Fountain Glacier proglacial areasThe proglacial areas of the glacier have been almost totally washed by glacial meltwater, by lateral melt streams that were originally adjacent to the glacier, but left as abandoned channels as the ice receded. The frontal zone of the glacier is a sheet of braided river sediment and lakes, but at the time of our visit was largely covered by Aufeis or icings (see next section). This sheet of exquisite ice crystals provided a good surface to walk on, but was prone to melting from underneath, leading to localized collapses. Another feature of the proglacial area was a gravel mound, which a times has been the sources of upwelling of water from the glacier, but at some distance from the visible glacier margin. | |||
 Aerial view of glacier snout showing a complex of lakes with ice floes, stream channels, deltas and Aufeis (at bottom). |  Aerial view to the right of the previous image, showing tundra top right with a transition of several former ice-marginal channels cutting through bedrock and sediment. |  A rare example of an esker emerging from the snout of the glacier, with ice-marginal stream (right-hand) on left and lake to the right. |  The ice-marginal stream at the true right-hand margin to a large extent flow under the ice. Where the stream emerges it becomes braided and forms a delta in a lake. |
 Fountain Glacier gets its name from upwellings in the proglacial area, but they were not active at this time. The mounds of glaciofluvial sediment show where upwelling occurred and are surrounded by Aufeis. |  The site of the former upwelling is marked by unusually well preserved rings of well-sorted gravel and sand. |  Mounds of debris from the upwellings and kettle ponds provide a foreground for the Aufeis and glacier snout. Brian Moorman for scale. |  An exceptionally large erratic (supraglacially transported) surrounded by glaciofluvial gravel and morainic debris, at the true right-hand margin of the glacier. |
 Glaciotectonically deformed gneiss bedrock exposed in a former ice-marginal channel. The bedrock is strongly fractured and the distinct planes dipping to the left (glacierwards) are thrusts. |  Shattered and granulated bedrock from glaciotectonic processes. The foot of the walking pole rests near a sole thrust, and fractures splay out from this zone forming a fan-shaped structure. |  Outside the influence of Fountain Glacier, the mountain opposite our camp has four receding niche glaciers. These glaciers are probably cold-based, but they are now barely sustained by snowfall. |  Reflections in one of the lakes at the snout of the glacier. Former ancient ice levels are marked by terraces in the tundra on the far side of the valley. |
| Photos Michael Hambrey, July 2014 | |||