What to wear
What to wear on a glacier landing in Alaska, layer by layer
The base is always warmer than the glacier, and in July the difference is bigger than people expect. Nothing is handed out at the aircraft: what you are wearing when you board is what you have for the twenty minutes that matter. This is what actually works.
Quick answer
Three layers: a thermal base, a fleece or light down mid-layer, and a windproof shell. Add a hat that grips, gloves, closed shoes and sunglasses. A glacier generates its own cold air, which flows downhill across the surface you are standing on. The flight itself is warm — the cabin is heated — and the twenty minutes outside are not.
Dressing for the ice, at a glance
- On the ice vs at the base
- Much coldera glacier makes its own weather
- In July as well
- Yesthis is the part people get wrong
- Provided by the operator
- Nothingno overalls on these flights
- Base layer
- Thermal, not cottoncotton holds sweat and then chills you
- Mid layer
- Fleece or light downeasy to take off in the cabin
- Outer
- Windproofthe single most useful item
- Head
- A hat that stays onand goes in a pocket near the rotor
- Hands
- Glovesplus thin liners if you are photographing
- Feet
- Closed shoes with griprequired, not suggested
- Eyes
- Sunglassesglare off snow comes from below as well
Why the ice is so much colder than the base
It is not altitude — the glacier is making its own weather
Cold air flows downhill off the ice. Windproof beats thick, every time.
People assume the cold is about height, and it is partly that. The bigger effect is something else entirely.
A large body of ice cools the air sitting on it. That cold air is denser than the air around it, so it flows downhill across the glacier surface like water. Stand on a glacier on a still, warm day and there is a breeze coming down it that exists nowhere else in the valley.
Which is why the base can be pleasant in a t-shirt and the landing zone twenty minutes later is not. It is also why a windproof layer matters more than a thick one: the problem is moving cold air rather than still cold air, and a thin shell over a fleece beats a heavy unlined coat every time.
The flight itself is not the issue. Helicopter cabins are heated and you will be comfortable in the air. The twenty minutes on the surface are the reason to dress properly, and twenty minutes is long enough to be genuinely cold if you got it wrong.
The layers
What each one is for
Three layers, four accessories, and each has a specific job.
- Base: thermal, and never cotton
Merino or a synthetic thermal against the skin. Its job is to move moisture away from you. Cotton does the opposite — it holds sweat and then chills you for the rest of the trip. A cotton t-shirt is the commonest mistake here.
- Mid: fleece or light down
The insulating layer, and the one you unzip in the heated cabin and close again before you step out. It wants to be easy to adjust without removing the shell.
- Outer: windproof, and waterproof if you have it
The most useful item you will bring. It does not need bulk; it needs to stop the cold air coming down the glacier. A light hard shell outperforms a heavy coat.
- A hat that grips — and a pocket for it
You lose a lot of heat through your head, and a rotor wash will take a loose hat instantly. A beanie that stays on, and into a pocket while you approach the aircraft.
- Gloves, plus thin liners
Bare hands on ice stop working quickly. Photographers should carry thin liners as well, because thick gloves and a camera are incompatible and taking them off in that wind is unpleasant.
- Closed shoes with grip
Required rather than suggested. Summer glacier ice has a rough granular surface and is less slippery than people expect, but it is still ice, and sandals are not permitted.
- Sunglasses, and sunscreen
Glare off snow and ice is severe and it reflects up at you as well as down. In June the light is relentless even when the temperature is not.
The flight is warm — heated cabin, headsets on. It is the twenty minutes outside that the packing list is for.
What the landing is like→What not to bring
Four things that make the twenty minutes worse
Nothing loose, no cotton, no big bag, and not only a long lens.
Anything loose near the aircraft. Hats, scarves, hoods, loose bags. Rotor wash will take them and a loose object near a rotor is a genuine hazard rather than an inconvenience. Pocket everything before you approach.
A cotton base layer. Covered above and worth repeating, because people read it and then pack a t-shirt anyway.
A large bag. Space and weight on a light helicopter are both limited. A small day pack is fine; a suitcase is not going on board.
Only a long lens. Photographers routinely bring a telephoto and nothing else, and then discover that the interesting thing is two metres away and the aircraft will not fit in the frame. A wide lens earns its place on a glacier; a tripod does not, and there is no time for one.
Common questions
What to wear, answered
Do they provide warm clothing on Alaska helicopter tours?
No. Nothing is handed out at the aircraft, so what you wear when you board is what you have for the time on the ice. The cabin itself is heated.
How cold is it on the glacier?
Noticeably colder than the base, in every month including July. A glacier cools the air sitting on it and that air flows downhill across the surface, so there is a breeze on the ice that does not exist in the valley.
What should I wear in July?
The same three layers as in January: thermal base, fleece or light down, and a windproof shell, plus a hat and gloves. July is warm at the base and the ice is not.
What shoes do I need?
Closed shoes with grip. Sandals are not permitted for a glacier landing, and smooth soles are a poor idea on ice.
Do I need waterproofs?
Windproof matters more. Waterproof is useful if you have it, because a glacier surface in summer carries meltwater, but stopping the wind is the thing that keeps you comfortable.
Is the flight itself cold?
No. Helicopter cabins are heated and you will be comfortable in the air with the headsets on. The packing list exists for the twenty minutes outside.
Go deeper
More on Alaska helicopter tours and glacier landings
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The one-hour flight with a landing: what the hour contains and why it costs what it does.
VerdictThe best Alaska helicopter tour
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The landingWhat a glacier landing is like
Fifteen to twenty-five minutes on the ice, and why that is the whole purchase.
AnchorageHelicopter tours from Anchorage
Everything that flies within an hour of the city, and where each one departs.
Grand KnikThe Grand Knik tour
Two hours and more than one landing - what the extra hour actually buys.
