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| Eisreisenwelt Ice Cave Austria, WW | |
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| | Eisreisenwelt Ice Cave Austria, WW | | | |
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Eisreisenwelt Ice Cave Austria, WW
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| no partners | | Eisreisenwelt Ice Cave is the largest ice cave in the world, at 42 kilometers (approx. 26 miles long).
To get to the entrance to the cave, we had to take a bus ride up to the bottom of the upper parking areas; then walk uphill about a quarter mile to the check in station, followed by a second half mile uphill walk to the gondola station that whisked us up a couple thousand feet; followed by a third uphill walk (about a half mile) to the entrance to the actual cave. All told, the Ice Cave entrance sits at 5250 feet--almost 3,600 feet above where we parked our car. The tour inside the cave itself involved another 300 feet of climbing! Not a huge hike by our normal standards, but I suspect the challenge of the approach to this tourist spot was a bit surprising to many visitors.
Anywhoo, at the entrance to the tour, we were separated by language--English on one side; German on the other. To provide light in the cave, they gave us actual carbide lanterns (with a gas can an open flame) in an effort to make the experience more "authentic." Likewise, instead of flashlights, the guides used strips of magnesium, which they would light when they needed to highlight a point or show the way. It was kind of cool, though I wonder how often someone lights their own (or someone else's) clothes on fire(?).
All of the uphill climbing to get to the cave means we were warm when we arrived. We were thankful that the skies were generally overcast, as that made it a bit cooler.
That said, this is an ice cave, so we came prepared for the freezing temps inside. Even outside the sealed entrance, we could see our breath.
Once they opened the door to the cave, a strong blast of wind exited--the result of colder air settling on the bottom of the cave and putting pressure on the entrance. The wind blew out most of our carbide lamps, but the guide re-lit them on the other side.
The cave itself was neat. We toured about 1 km of the cave, but it is the most spectacular section. We saw several ice formations and flows. The oldest ice in the cave is over 5,000 years old. We also waked by a cross-section of glacial ice, which shows the deposited layers of ice like tree rings, which help with dating the ice. |
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