Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/52531
CLOCKWISE, TOP LEFT The rivers are teeming with salmon; the campfire on the jetty outside the dining room; local oysters; land and lunch: lunch on a glacier is an experience to remember. OPPOSITE A guest strolls along the floating boardwalk to the building that houses the main dining area. glaciers in tropical and temperate zones, BC's glaciers have been retreating for the last century due to climate change. Helm Glacier in southwest BC and Illecillewaet Glacier in the interior of the province have both retreated by more than 1100 metres. These changes in glacier run-off have major consequences for water supplies, hydroelectricity generation and fish populations. The reduced amount of cold water flowing into mountain streams and rivers during hot summer months may eventually threaten the salmon spawning cycle. Our helicopter hovers above a small glacier, dwarfed by a vast, slow-moving body of snow and ice. This glacier is one of many and doesn't have a name. As we land on a rocky ledge at its base, I decide to call it Barratt's Glacier – our pilot seems pleased. He sets up a small square table and covers it with a white tablecloth before laying out a feast of thick- cut gourmet sandwiches, bottles of beer and wine from the Okanagan Valley. I dangle my legs over a rocky ledge, eat my sandwich and sip red wine while I soak up the scenery. The contrast of the deep lush valley below and the towering mountain of blue ice and grey rock above is awe-inspiring. I remember Nimmo Bay's motto (a clever play on Einstein's famous equation): E²=MC means "expectations exceeded = memories created". My expectations have been well and truly exceeded; definitely squared – maybe even cubed. I, for one, am hooked. 58 www.travelandliving.com.au