We visited Harvard Glacier. Which is just left of Yale Glacier. And up from Vassar Glacier, Bryn Mawr Glacier, Smith Glacier… in College Fjord, Alaska.

I’m not kidding. There is a College Fjord with about a half dozen glaciers named after ivy league schools, all part of Prince William Sound.

And from Whittier, Alaska, an hour or so from Anchorage, you can take a day trip cruise to those glaciers and more. Which we did, enjoying some grand views and spectacular glacier calvings and fun animal sightings.

The marina in Whittier.

The route we took was almost the same as the dotted line outlined here. We didn’t take the Barry arm, but instead went to the Blackstone and Beloit glaciers (to the left on this map).

The Billings glacier is one of the first we saw from the boat.

Ed being “the King of the World”. That allusion will come back to haunt us later…

A stiff chill wind blew on deck…

Elephant seals.

A humpback whale.

Seals.

One of many snowmelt waterfalls we saw.

First view from afar of Harvard Glacier.

Vassar glacier.

Bryn Mawr Glacier.

Smith Glacier.

Yes, playing the theme from “Titanic” is part of the cruise boat’s shtick when we get to the ice floes…

The crew collected glacier ice, which was then chopped up and served on board in cocktails.

Getting closer to Harvard Glacier.

400 feet high. The equivalent of a 40 story building. About 1.5 miles wide at College Fjord.

I captured some video of Harvard Glacier calving.

The most spectacular calving happened just as we were leaving:

Bald Eagle.

Seal.

Photo bomb. Poked its head up just as I clicked.

Otters.

Approaching Beloit Glacier.

Beloit and Blackstone Glacier

And then, as a bonus, right before we returned to Whittier, Ed took this video of a flock of Kittiwakes.