Girls on Ice stages Alaska adventure

July 8, 2015

A free University of Alaska Fairbanks program about the cold subject of glaciology left nine high school girls with warm feelings about science, outdoor adventure and each other this summer.

While students in Girls on Ice program learn how to design and conduct their own scientific experiments, they also gain valuable mountaineering skills as the hike in the Alaska Range. Photo courtesy of Girls on Ice.

The girls, who were from Alaska and the Lower 48, were part of the Girls on Ice program which is hosted through UAF's College of Natural Science and Mathematics. The girls spent nine days in the later part of June exploring a glacier in the Alaska Range through scientific field studies and art. They also learned how to navigate the glacier’s icy and ever-changing terrain until they could reach considerable heights.

“I think we all knew that we were going to be getting into some beautiful scenery when we got there,” said Gabrielle Katsma, who recently moved from Seward, Alaska, to Michigan. “But nothing was as breathtaking as getting to the top of the moraines or these giant rocks and looking back over the scenery and seeing the change in perspective and the change in how much more you can see.”

Changing perspectives is what the program is all about, said Erin Pettit, an associate professor of glaciology and geophysics in UAF’s Geosciences Department.

She started the program over a decade ago, while a graduate student at the University of Washington, as a way to help young women gain confidence.

“I started this program because I want to share the inspiration, self confidence, self awareness, and love of science I have gained from field science expeditions and my own personal trips exploring the mountains and wilderness area. Pretty simple, really,” said Pettit.

Now there are two sessions — one in Alaska and one in Washington that explores an ice-covered volcano. A variety of instructors with different talents go on each trip to help the girls explore the glacier from many different angles. The Alaska trip included a glaciologist, an oceanographer and a mountaineer. An artist also went to help the girls explore their powers of observation.

Some girls hailed from Alaska’s rural and urban areas. Others came from Washington, Oregon, California and New York. The girls gave many reasons for attending — exploring places yonder, getting out of a bustling city, veering off the self-defined trails of life and trying independence away from the safety net of home.

Bernadette Franulovich, from Ketchikan, Alaska, said she was looking for inspiration — and not the type you could find in a textbook.

“I have always liked science, but recently I’ve kind of gotten bored,” she said. “I was learning about the same old things at school, and so I applied to this program because I really wanted to be re-inspired by science. It definitely did that. I’m around all these amazing people who also love science, and I think that’s the most awesome thing ever.”

Girls on Ice is an Inspiring Girls Expedition hosted through UAF’s College of Natural Science and Mathematics. The program receives funding from the Alaska Climate Science Center, the National Science Foundation and private donors. The program welcomes donations.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Erin Pettit, associate professor of glaciology and geophysics, pettit@gi.alaska.edu (in the field July 8-10, 13-15 and 21-27)

ON THE WEB: www.girlsonice.org