by Christelle Inema

My trip to Alaska was amazing. The first day was hard, my eyes were always restlessly waiting for nightfall. Fortunately, I got used to it.

“Alaska was like a paradise where the sun never sets,” said Venessa Lopez, one of the Girls on Ice.

The glacier, the snow, the rocks, mountains, river and lake were breathtaking. The views were always amazing. Everywhere my eyes turned they never seemed to get bored. It was the first time that I was complete at home with Nature.

I was travelling with a group of wonderful women, 4 instructors and 7 girls my age from different states such as Alaska, Washington and Oregon and Vancouver BC. Among the instructors, they were a Glaciologist, an Oceanographer, a Wilderness biologist, and a mountaineer, later on a National Geographic photographer and an artist joined the group. All the instructors added different interesting perspectives to the expedition. The girls that I met there were all smart and enthusiastic. We bonded over our curiosity and eagerness to learn and explore beyond our comfort zone.

Everyday was always a big day, but the energy of the group made the hardest steps feel easier. I had to familiarize myself to the hiking gear used in the glaciers such as, crampons, big snow boots, iceaxes, poles, heavy backpacks.

On the third day of our expedition, we started doing science experiments. We had three groups which were formed according to our interest. Groups were led by students with the help of instructors. In my group, we were interested in how much water melts each day from the surface of the glacier. To measure the rate at which the ice was melting from the glacier, we accounted for the temperature and the speed and density of the water through the creek. The experience of doing scientific experiment on the glacier was new and worthwhile.

I could write an endless email sharing the beautiful moments that I had on the Gulkana glacier. It was definitely a marvelous experience. Being born in Rwanda, I could not have never dreamt of being on a glacier.

This is just a small part of the expedition. I am really grateful that I was able to participate in the program. I hope some of the girls on the Island get to participate in the Girls on Ice. This was like realising a dream that I was too afraid to dream.