Yup, I did. Some of it frozen, other times there was water on top of ice, and I walked on it. It was definitely one of the most awesome days of my life.
Wednesday was a great day. I signed up for Helios y Aventura's "Big Ice" trek. It's about a 7-8 day of hiking, half on Perito Moreno Glacier, and half on terra firma. I found the later to be more difficult than strapping on some crampons and climbing on ice, although that did present some challenges as well. We started out the day in Calafate and drove the 90 minutes to the glacier. We walked along much of the same path I walked on Monday, taking a look at the northern wall of the glacier. I'm glad I spent a full day there though, because that enabled me to watch the calving, and really enjoy it. This was just a quick walk through the balconies, with a short stop or two for photographs. I did, however, have the chance to see three condors (3 days of the condor?).
After visiting the glacier and walking along the path, we headed for the dock to catch a boat along the eastern/southern face of the glacier, across a lake, to get to the land so we could hike up alongside. There were some crazy pieces of ice in the water.
Wednesday was a great day. I signed up for Helios y Aventura's "Big Ice" trek. It's about a 7-8 day of hiking, half on Perito Moreno Glacier, and half on terra firma. I found the later to be more difficult than strapping on some crampons and climbing on ice, although that did present some challenges as well. We started out the day in Calafate and drove the 90 minutes to the glacier. We walked along much of the same path I walked on Monday, taking a look at the northern wall of the glacier. I'm glad I spent a full day there though, because that enabled me to watch the calving, and really enjoy it. This was just a quick walk through the balconies, with a short stop or two for photographs. I did, however, have the chance to see three condors (3 days of the condor?).
After visiting the glacier and walking along the path, we headed for the dock to catch a boat along the eastern/southern face of the glacier, across a lake, to get to the land so we could hike up alongside. There were some crazy pieces of ice in the water.
We started hiking through a forest trail that brought us right up close with where the glacier begins.
We climbed the side of the glacier, probably a 300 to 400m gain in elevation, in a bit under 90 minutes. Nothing too crazy, but there were some very steep parts. We stopped along the say to pick up our crampons and then to get into our harnesses. We were not attached to one another, but it was so that if we fell into some crevasse, we could be lifted out easily (that is if we didn't drown or freeze first, I was a bit pessimistic about the utility of these harnesses, but I wasn't about to go without one). 
We climbed the side of the glacier, probably a 300 to 400m gain in elevation, in a bit under 90 minutes. Nothing too crazy, but there were some very steep parts. We stopped along the say to pick up our crampons and then to get into our harnesses. We were not attached to one another, but it was so that if we fell into some crevasse, we could be lifted out easily (that is if we didn't drown or freeze first, I was a bit pessimistic about the utility of these harnesses, but I wasn't about to go without one). We reached the ice roughly 90 minutes into our trek and stopped to put on our crampons. Then I got a mini-lesson in how to walk uphill, downhill, and traverse. And then it was off the races. I was in a group of 10 English speakers and we spent the next 4 hours together on top of Perito Moreno.
We went in and out of ice tunnels,
checked out deep crevasses (this one filled with water and extremely deep),
rivers full of water,
rivers full of water,
explored ice caves (that's my guide cutting out a tunnel to crawl underneath and then lift ourselves into the cave using a pick), 
with a shade of blue I've never seen before (the inside of this cave was the most marvelous thing I have ever seen),
and saw one enormous sink hole (video to be posted separately).
The four hours on top of the glacier were incredible. It was just me and glacier (and a few other people), but total solitude and isolation. It was windy, but we had decent weather, with the sun shining on occasion. I had lunch on top of the glacier with the best view ever and some very fresh, very cold glacier water. Take that evian. You have to wear gloves on the glacier, because the ice is as sharp as glass and if you put your hands on it, you will get cut and bleed. Because of the large amount of water on the surface of this glacier, there are numerous sink holes, which carry the water to the bottom of the glacier. All the water on the bottom is what's responsible for the glacier moving approximately 2-3 meters daily...which causes the glacier to calv. The glacier formation from the top is unique. It's like there are strips of river/glacier that sort of connect to one another, but there are often gaps in between. (If you saw Maya Lin's Systematic Landscapes exhibit at the Corcoran in 2009, you may have an idea of what I'm talking about). In any case, it was topographically and geographically fascinating and I have tons of good pictures. I was tired after my four hours on top and from wearing crampons, but I didn't want to go. 
with a shade of blue I've never seen before (the inside of this cave was the most marvelous thing I have ever seen),
and saw one enormous sink hole (video to be posted separately).
The four hours on top of the glacier were incredible. It was just me and glacier (and a few other people), but total solitude and isolation. It was windy, but we had decent weather, with the sun shining on occasion. I had lunch on top of the glacier with the best view ever and some very fresh, very cold glacier water. Take that evian. You have to wear gloves on the glacier, because the ice is as sharp as glass and if you put your hands on it, you will get cut and bleed. Because of the large amount of water on the surface of this glacier, there are numerous sink holes, which carry the water to the bottom of the glacier. All the water on the bottom is what's responsible for the glacier moving approximately 2-3 meters daily...which causes the glacier to calv. The glacier formation from the top is unique. It's like there are strips of river/glacier that sort of connect to one another, but there are often gaps in between. (If you saw Maya Lin's Systematic Landscapes exhibit at the Corcoran in 2009, you may have an idea of what I'm talking about). In any case, it was topographically and geographically fascinating and I have tons of good pictures. I was tired after my four hours on top and from wearing crampons, but I didn't want to go.
Eventually we made our way from the center of the glacier (where it's less craggy and has smoother hills - in fact, you can see this part of the glacier in some of the previous pictures I've posted) back to the edge. There we crampoffed (not a word, I just invented it now) and made our way back down the mountain. We hung around watching the glacier calv some more, and I got to see a pretty big chunk fall into the lake and some decent size waves flow out.
The boat picked us up to bring us back to our bus so we could return to Calafate. They had a very nice surprise for us...whiskey on the rocks...that is glacier ice!
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