What's a Nunatak?

The Great Nunatak - Columbia Glacier

It took me awhile to come up with a name for my business. I thought of clever words that would somehow characterize the nature of the flight service, with ideas like “Apex Aviation” and “Backcountry Air”. But these seemed too plain, generic, and lacking in character. They also do not necessarily relate to Alaska, and an Alaskan theme was important to me.

Well, we have this glacier nearby to Valdez, called Columbia Glacier – ever heard of it? At its current terminus is a smaller but rugged mountain called “The Great Nunatak”. I was discussing it with my southern friend Jeff Glenny (from the American South), and he exclaimed, ‘that’s called The Great Nunatak’, in his southern drawl. It caught my attention, and I kept repeating in my mind in Jeff's southern drawl, oddly. "Nunatak"; Yes, this was it! Character! Alaska character! Epitomizing rugged, mountainous, glaciated beauty!

We have many nunataks in Alaska. Many right nearby to Valdez. My favorite clients – Mountaineers – know the name well. They need no introduction to nunataks, for mountain climbers seek out the environment in which nunataks exist. So, what’s a nunatak?

A nunatak is basically a mountain with its base covered and surrounded by glaciers. I tend to think of a nunatak as an 'island of land' in a 'sea of ice', but the definition could be applied a bit more liberally to include 'mountain-like features only partially incased in the glaciation zone' (for glaciers retreat). Since the land mass of the 'island variety' of nunatak can exist in isolation for eons, exclusive plant and animal life is often present.

The word “nunatak” originated from the language of the Greenlandic Inuit peoples (nunataq) and has been used in the English language since the late 1800s. Jeff pronounced "nunatak" like "noon attack" (as in - we will attack at noon!), so that's how I like to say it. But I think another pronunciation of "nunatak" is "nun attack" (as in - attack of the nuns!). Three syllables like this: noon-ah-tack.

Alaska

What's a Nunatak?

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