Photos: The allure of Portage Lake in springtime

PORTAGE LAKE — Spring conditions have made Portage Lake an attractive place for cross-country skiers, snow bikers and walkers in recent days. On Friday, several tiny figures could be spotted through a light snowfall from the parking area at the closed Begich, Boggs Visitors Center heading out on the lake ice toward Portage Glacier.

Adventurers had crust conditions to thank for a great day of ice-viewing. Crust forms when warm daytime temperatures and cold overnight lows conspire to create a firm snow surface for travelers. On Friday, morning conditions were fast for skate skiing, and bikes seemed to have little trouble. Snow fell lightly now and then in flat-calm air.

Beth Barber, of Anchorage, took the opportunity to walk to the glacier with her friend Jaimee Fougner, visiting from Colorado Springs. It was Fougner’s first time seeing a glacier. She called it “crushingly beautiful.”

“A shade of blue that I’ve never seen before,” Fougner said. “To stand there in the silence, it’s so peaceful and quiet and you hear nothing but the snow falling.”

As she spoke, sunlight broke through the clouds to highlight the rippled pattern on the glacier’s surface. In the other direction, a coyote crossed the snow, vaguely zig-zagging toward Portage Pass and Whittier.

Visitors should be cautious: Traveling on a frozen waterway is inherently risky, especially as temperatures rise. Portage Lake is not regularly monitored or regularly patrolled by Chugach National Forest. Weather conditions can change quickly, and warmth during the daytime can turn crusty snow into a punchy slog. Getting close to the face of the retreating glacier ice, which crumbles unpredictably year round, is a dangerous idea.

[From 2020: ‘Like slow motion’: Anchorage man captures video of massive block of ice calving at Portage Glacier]

Here are a few more views from a pretty day on Portage Lake.