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There are no words... When reaching the peak of Observation Mountain after 11 km and 1300 m of elevation gain off-trail, all struggle was forgotten in an instant. 360 degree views (I posted some others before) of an absolutely stunning landscape and no people other than two of my best friends. What a bliss...

The glacier coming from the right is the Kaskawulsh Glacier. Until two years prior to this shot, most of the water was still flowing off northwards (to the left here) and created the Ä'äy Chú (Slim's River). The accelerated retreat of the glacier due to climate change led to accumulation of sand banks, some of which you can see in this picture. They started to block the flow more and more until finally, two years ago, the flow changed direction completely and most of the water was funneled eastwards into the Kaskawulsh River (straight ahead in this picture), which eventually spills into the Pacific Ocean. As a consequence, the Ä'äy Chú is drying up and the water level of Kluane Lake, which it is feeding, decreases by multiple meters each year. Kluane Lake is an important source of food for local natives and animals alike. Those who have lived here for thousands of years will need to move to another place soon.

Other pictures from the top:

Location: Observation Mountain (Peak), Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada

Description

There are no words... When reaching the peak of Observation Mountain after 11 km and 1300 m of elevation gain off-trail, all struggle was forgotten in an instant. 360 degree views (I posted some others before) of an absolutely stunning landscape and no people other than two of my best friends. What a bliss...

The glacier coming from the right is the Kaskawulsh Glacier. Until two years prior to this shot, most of the water was still flowing off northwards (to the left here) and created the Ä'äy Chú (Slim's River). The accelerated retreat of the glacier due to climate change led to accumulation of sand banks, some of which you can see in this picture. They started to block the flow more and more until finally, two years ago, the flow changed direction completely and most of the water was funneled eastwards into the Kaskawulsh River (straight ahead in this picture), which eventually spills into the Pacific Ocean. As a consequence, the Ä'äy Chú is drying up and the water level of Kluane Lake, which it is feeding, decreases by multiple meters each year. Kluane Lake is an important source of food for local natives and animals alike. Those who have lived here for thousands of years will need to move to another place soon.

Other pictures from the top:

Location: Observation Mountain (Peak), Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada