View of a highly crevassed section of the Khurdopin Glacier.
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These are fragments of the Khurdopin Glacier in Pakistan, a monstruos 42 km long glacier that lies on the Karakoram range, the most glaciated part of the world after the polar regions.
The glacier is in constant motion, it cracks and flows with unimaginable power. Large bodies of water within the glacier appear and disappear overnight. Loud sounds can be heard from near and far, and most of the times its impossible to recognize where the sound is coming from as it bounces in the massive walls of the valley that contains it.
These towers of ice shine differently as the light hits them throughout the day. Different shades of white contrast with the dark rocks and dust that cover the columns of ice. And so the sunlight affects how the ice shapes and reshapes, constantly.
This is one of the many glaciers in the Karakoram that surge, blocking rivers from lateral valleys, sometimes creating large lakes and natural ice dams that eventually colapse, bringing huge amounts of water down the main valley at once, destroying everything on its path.
These photographs were taken during an expedition that aimed to better understand the phenomenon of surging glaciers. Finding solutions to prevent its disastrous consequences was central to the research in order to help the communities downstream, which over generations have coexisted with this terrifying beauty.
Project granted in part by National Geographic.
View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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A view from inside the Khurdopin Glacier close to the toe of this 50 KM body of water.
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View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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One of the countless bodies of water that appeared and disappeared in very short periods of time at the Khurdopin Glacier. This proves the dynamic behavior of this glacier, where the warm temperatures during summer cause the melting of ice and thus the accumulation of this water. This water would drain either through subglacial channels bringing this water all the way to the toe of the glacier, or forming new lagoons in the surface via the numerous rivers. Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan.
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View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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One of the countless bodies of water that appeared and disappeared in very short periods of time at the Khurdopin Glacier. This proves the dynamic behavior of this glacier, where the warm temperatures during summer cause the melting of ice and thus the accumulation of this water. This water would drain either through subglacial channels bringing this water all the way to the toe of the glacier, or forming new lagoons in the surface via the numerous rivers. Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan.
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The formation of small bodies of water like this one are very common in the Kurdopin Glacier. These would form in a short period of time and also drain very quickly, putting in evidence that this is a very dynamic glacier, where the masses of water are constantly moving through subglacial channels.
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View of a section of the Khurdopin glacier
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A view of the Khurdopin Glacier at over 4200 meters over the sea level. Due to the numerous crevasses in this section of the glacier, our team took many more hours than expected to reach de Medial Moraine of the glacier.
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