Great Glacier The Great Glacier is a large frozen waste north of Icicle Inn in " Final Fantasy VII " . It is a maze of wilderness trails around several landmarks , such as trees , icy water , and caves . Crossing the glacier is required to reach Gaea ' s Cliff and later the Whirlwind Maze of the North Crater . Cloud Strife and his party pass through the glacier in the last leg of their world - wide pursuit of Sephiroth . Depending upon which way was taken on in the snowboarding minigame , the party will land in different locations in the glacier ( see below ) . They collapse after wandering through the snow and are saved by Mr . Holzoff . The party can find the Alexander Summon Materia in the glacier by touching a hot springs and then finding a snow woman in a cave . Due to the cold , Cloud passes out after every 544 steps ( equates to 145 seconds of movement in the NTSC American version or approximately 174 seconds in the PAL version ) , and will wake up in Holzoff ' s hut . If a player intends to collect all items , it ' s common , if not almost certain , for Cloud to pass out two or three times before everything has been collected . The Great Glacier is temporarily unavailable during the times where Tifa and Cid are party leaders , as the player cannot snowboard or enter the glacier from the world map . Entering Icicle Inn from the back is also not possible during this time . Heading slightly right gives the option to exit the glacier . Doing so will have Cloud run and roll through a path that leads him off screen and outside on the world map . Selecting to stay will move the player slightly left ( back over the dialogue trigger line ) . The area the player can move in is small , but encounters still exist in this area matching the path area of the cave . Locations . Paths . There are six types of path screen : Snow , Ice , Forest , Rock , Upward , and Downward . Snow and Ice paths share their formations , while the remaining four share theirs . Each type of path is used many times with no distinguishable difference , however , some items are set to only appear on certain paths between certain areas . This is the upper left exit of the Crossroads , and either of the south - western exits of the Hot Spring . This is the northern exit of the Crossroads . Quests . Traversing Great Glacier . The Glacier Map is a key item found at a house in Icicle Inn . The map helps the party navigate , but it does not show the current location . If Cloud walks around too long , he collapses and is transported to Holzoff ' s cabin . To get through Great Glacier one merely needs to walk around , although it does contain many treasures if the player knows where to look . The items available according to letters on the map are A : Elixir , B : Mind Source , C : Potion , D : Safety Bit ( in a cave , also ) , E : Added Cut Materia ( to find the player must head up from Crossroads and on the second screen of the path between numbered areas ) , F : All Materia ( in Snow Field Cave ) , and lastly , the Alexander Materia , be found in Snow ' s Cave , after defeating her . The Hot Spring must be touched prior to this encounter . Most of the items in the glacier can be obtained infinitely . Only the Safety Bit and Mind Source can be obtained in a single instance . Therefore , one may want to opt to not pick up items on their first travel so they can pick up multiple instances later . See the infinite pickups section for more details . The different courses the player can take in the snowboarding game , can take the player to four different areas of Great Glacier upon arrival . Acquiring Alexander . The easiest way to get Alexander is to first make the way to the hot springs and touch it , then explore around the glacier collecting treasures until Cloud will pass out and wake up in Mr . Holzoff ' s hut . From the hut the player should head south to find themselves in the Snow Field . The player should head directly onwards from the starting place until they come across the cave with an All Materia inside . Once they come out of the cave they should head directly to the right of where they start , and keep on going right till they arrive in Snow ' s Cave . Snow will be inside and fight the party , and drop the Alexander Materia . The Alexander can be picked up repeatedly so one may want to avoid picking it up when it is first dropped . Infinite pickups . A number of items in the Great Glacier do not prevent the character from moving . These are the Mind Source , the Potion , and the Elixir . Due to the scripts of the latter two , these items can be picked up infinitely . This is known as the Infinite Elixir glitch . The item can be picked up but movability is not prevented , and at the point of receipt the item has been added to inventory and the flag has not been set , and while the receipt is not dismissed the script does not continue . Therefore if the player picks it up and then exits the room ( either via the door or passing out ) , they will have the item in their inventory and can pick it up again when the room is re - entered . The script set - up for the Elixir and Potion is also the same for Alexander , Added Cut , and All , though movability is disabled . These items can still be picked up infinitely if they are picked up as the player takes the last step . The item will be added to the inventory , the receipt displayed , and if it is not dismissed the player will eventually end up the cabin with item in their pocket but the pickup still available at the original point . This method is time - consuming and often requires thought out plans , though some step - plans have been discovered that guarantee obtaining some of the items on the last step . Items . The rare accessory Circlet can be stolen from Snow . Musical themes . " Buried in the Snow " plays in the Great Glacier . Etymology . A is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries .