2006-07-05 Great Basin National Monument 73

Glacier - We went on up to the glacier. I asked what made it a "glacier" and not just "snow". For it to be a glacier, it must have snow and ice year round and it has to move. We hiked up the glacial moraine (lots of loose rocks) about 2.3 miles to the base of the glacier. It is a large snowfield in a bowl carved out of the mountain at 10,800 feet during the ice age. We could see ripples in the snow where it has slowly moved down the mountain. While we were standing there, enjoying the view, we heard a small avalanche in the glacier. We're not going any further.