Unlike ones in North America, these end in cliffs 60 to 70 feet high. Although cracks, or crevasses, are typical in most U.S. glaciers, few are seen here. What little melt water appears on the surface fills the cracks, then freezes. The temperature of glaciers here is about minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas in the United States they're closer to 32 degrees because of the warm annual temperatures in the mountains. We're trying Karen Lewis and Patrick Bardel measure snow depth next to Canada Glacier.
Snow here evaporates rather than turning into water.
You might think that the snow and ice just melts like that on a sidewalk. However, with air temperatures typically below freezing, there's not much melting going on. However, the ice below the surface can warm up, like the inside of a car on a cold day. The surface is cold, but a few inches below the surface it can melt. A thin cover of white snow can quickly stop the melting because it reflects the warming sunlight, whereas darker ice absorbs light.