By Greg Abbott
Following are some comments that I've received about this site. Thanks to everyone who has written and shared their wonderful compliments with me. Write me at greg@abbottandhast.com to let me know what your thoughts are. Thanks.
"Very nice Greg! Very nice!"
"Hey, hey ... good story!! It really sucked me in to reading it all."
"I went to your web page and I think that it's really cool. It looks really fun, but as for me, I would never have the courage to go out and do something like that. I'm glad I had the chance to see your page. Thanks."
"I wanted to thank you for your informative website on Matanuska Glacier. I've searched for information on Matanuska and in the search found very little until I came across your site. I am planning a trip to Alaska with three community college students. We are arriving from New Mexico. My students are Native Americans and I am Kenaitze Indian. I wanted to prep these students about the land that we will be seeing. I just wanted to let you know that your and your dad's experiences will be more beneficial to my students than all the planning I could muster for them! I suspect that I will be very cautious visiting the area, and again, your insight and experiences are very much appreciated."
"What a trip! I am planning a family trip to Alaska and one stop we were considering was the Matanuska Glacier. Your pictures and story have now convinced me that it will be a great spot. However, I will probably use a guide service for the trip. Thanks for the info."
"What an adventure!!!!! It was interesting reading, and you conveyed the tension of the moments. I'm so glad that all turned out well."
"I read about your glacier experience. Sounds like quite an intense ordeal. I can't even imagine what it must have been like. Were you speculating about the possiblity of death or were you optimistic about getting out of it? I can see how some people would have just given up in those circumstances, but you didn't and you survived."
"I just read your story and I think that it was really incredible how both of you could survive in that place. I guess it is the price that anyone has to pay in order to have an amazing experiences. I enjoyed all the pictures. Congratulations for this web page, it is really good."
"Wow! What a frightening experience. There is a reason you and Allan survived that. Thank you, Greg, for sharing that experience with me and others."
"I read your Alaska story. What an incredible night ... and incredible sights! Your photos are just dazzling. Image 2 looks like the setting for a fairy tale, like the cover of a fantasy novel. Alaska's definitely on my trip priority list, but I think I'll check out the glaciers from a distance."
"Interesting site you have there. I thought it was well written. It's interesting to hear the impressions of someone who hasn't spent a lot of time around glaciers and their various hazards. I've been around them so much that I almost instinctively know what to look out for. I'm glad all worked out well for you and your dad ... it could have very easily turned out much worse. Next time you're on a glacier be sure to take, at a minimum, ice axes, crampons, extra warm clothes, a foam pad and food. Also, be very careful with those ice caves and deeply entrenched meandering streams. Ice can easily collapse in these areas. In fact, it's actually quite common for the ice overhanging the streams to crack and collapse (just like in the area of Image 9). I've been on the Matanuska quite a bit and I've seen these things collapse a couple of times. Pretty scary."
"Absolutely breathtaking! You have quite a photographic talent. I can only imagine the great sense of relief that you two must have felt when you finally did get out of the glacier. Thank you for sharing."
"Yours was a gripping story (with excellent photos) illustrating how even intelligent people with a reasonable degree of outdoors experience can get into trouble on a glacier. Our trip up the Exit Glacier was magnificent. Having clear, warm weather helped. The view of the icefield at the top was well worth the climb ... snow for as far as the eye can see. In order to understand the discussion in the following message, read the news story on the next page:
"Hi there. I was interested in your site because I was actually on the NOLS course where Thomas died on Matanuska. My NOLS experience on the Matanuska was unbelievable, filled with many highs and some deep lows, as you can imagine. Our expedition consisted of 16 members, Thomas being one of them. We were all able to summit Mount Marcus-Baker on July 5, 1999. We also did some climbing around the Scandy Peaks area, about 10 miles up glacier from where you were. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that your site brings back a lot of great images for me, along with some scary ones. I too have an extensive album from our trip and the pictures you have posted took me right back there. Thanks for a such a nice site, and please be a little more prepared for your environment the next time. Glaciers can certainly be deadly places."
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Text and photographs copyright Greg Abbott (1999).