3-Minute Postcard: Perito Moreno Glacier

We keep hearing that the majority of the world's glaciers are retreating. They're shrinking in size and releasing their meltwaters into dangerously high oceans. This is a fact. But note the use of the word "majority." Not all of earth's glaciers are retreating. Some are doing the opposite: advancing. This means they're ripe for the hiking.

For reasons scientists are still trying to explain, there are two large glaciers advancing in the Southern Patagonia Ice Field that straddles the border of Chile and Argentina. One of those glaciers, the massive Perito Moreno, is in such predictable equilibrium with its environment that it solid blue ice fields have become a popular spot for day hikes. In the Argentine town of El Calafate, every tour agent is capable of setting you up with a day at the glacier to fit your desires; boats take sightseeing tours of the terminus, mini-treks take short walks onto the ice, and the 'Big Ice' tour goes as far as trekking to the center of the glacier.

In this installment of the 3-Minute Postcard, we venture onto Perito Moreno to give a sense of what hiking onto the glacier is all about, but remember, since Perito Moreno constantly advances, evolves, and changes from year to year, no two hikes are the same.