Beyond the Window

Five Glaciers Every Wings Airways Guest Experiences

Part of The Wings Library — Preserving the stories of Southeast Alaska, one flight at a time. 

There is a moment on nearly every Wings Airways flight when something remarkable happens.

The conversations fade. Cameras slowly lower. Even guests who have traveled the world find themselves simply staring out the window.

Every Wings Airways flight reveals five remarkable glaciers across the Juneau Icefield—an unforgettable perspective of Southeast Alaska.

It isn’t because someone asked for silence.

It’s because Alaska has a way of taking your breath away.

From the air, the mountains seem endless. Rivers carve through deep valleys. And then, stretching toward the horizon, come the glaciers—ancient rivers of ice that have been shaping this landscape for thousands of years.

Many visitors arrive in Juneau hoping to see a glacier.

Few realize they’re about to experience five.

Each glacier has its own personality. Each tells a different chapter of the story of the Juneau Icefield. Together, they reveal an Alaska that simply can’t be understood from the ground.

Why Five Glaciers Matter

The Juneau Icefield is one of North America’s largest icefields, covering nearly 1,500 square miles along the Coast Mountains of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. It feeds more than 30 major glaciers, each flowing in its own direction through rugged mountain terrain.

Every Wings Airways flightseeing tour is designed to showcase five of these remarkable glaciers.

Seeing five glaciers in one flight isn’t simply about quantity. It’s about perspective.

Some glaciers are broad and powerful. Others are graceful and winding. Some reveal towering walls of fractured blue ice, while others quietly demonstrate the patient work of glaciers carving valleys over thousands of years.

Together, they tell a much richer story than any single glacier ever could.

Norris Glacier

The First Introduction

For many guests, Norris Glacier is their first true glimpse of the immense Juneau Icefield.

Its rugged surface is etched with deep crevasses, brilliant blue ice, and dramatic textures that seem almost impossible to believe are real. Looking down from above, you begin to understand that glaciers are not frozen in time—they are constantly moving, slowly reshaping the mountains beneath them.

For many, Norris Glacier is the moment the adventure truly begins.

Taku Glacier

The Giant

If the Juneau Icefield has a crown jewel, it is Taku Glacier.

More than two miles wide at its face, Taku Glacier is the largest glacier flowing from the Juneau Icefield and one of Alaska’s most impressive rivers of ice. From above, it stretches across the landscape with a scale that photographs struggle to capture.

Unlike many glaciers around the world, Taku Glacier spent much of the twentieth century advancing while many others were retreating, making it one of the most closely studied glaciers in North America.

Soaring above it offers a humbling reminder of nature’s extraordinary power.

Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier

A Dramatic Neighbor

Across the Taku River from the historic Taku Glacier Lodge, and arm of the Taku Glacier, Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier spills gracefully through the surrounding mountains.

Its steep descent and dramatic setting create one of the most recognizable landscapes along our route. For guests visiting the Taku Glacier Lodge, it provides a spectacular backdrop to one of Alaska’s most unique wilderness destinations.

It is a beautiful reminder that even lesser-known glaciers possess remarkable character and beauty.

East Twin Glacier

The Sculptor

East Twin Glacier reveals a quieter side of the icefield.

Flowing elegantly between rugged mountain peaks, it demonstrates how glaciers patiently sculpt valleys over thousands of years. From the air, its graceful curves contrast beautifully with the sharp ridgelines surrounding it.

Its beauty lies in its subtlety.

West Twin Glacier

The Companion

Neighboring East Twin, West Twin Glacier completes the story.

Together, the Twin Glaciers create one of the most striking views on the entire flight. From above, guests can appreciate how these two glaciers have evolved side by side, each responding differently to the surrounding landscape while remaining part of the same remarkable icefield.

It’s the perfect finale to an unforgettable journey across Alaska’s frozen wilderness.

Five Glaciers. One Story.

Each glacier is impressive on its own.

Together, they tell the story of Southeast Alaska.

They reveal the immense scale of the Juneau Icefield, the power of moving ice, and the beauty that has inspired explorers, scientists, pilots, photographers, and travelers for generations.

Long after the photographs are tucked away, guests often remember something even more lasting.

They remember the feeling.

The feeling of looking out the window and realizing just how wild, timeless, and extraordinary Alaska truly is.

That is the view we are privileged to share every day.

Five Glaciers at a Glance

Window Seat Wisdom: Our hope is the views stay with you long after the flight ends.

Window Seat Wisdom

Every glacier tells a story.

Some are advancing. Some are retreating. All are changing.

If you return to Alaska years from now, these glaciers won’t look exactly as they do today. Their beauty lies not only in their immense age, but in their constant evolution.

Every Wings Airways flight captures a single moment in a landscape that is forever becoming something new.