Sunny Cove Kayaking Introduces Alaska’s First Glacier Wrangling Tours
After years of guests asking if they could “take a little piece of the glacier home,” Sunny Cove Kayaking is proud to announce our newest adventure: Beginner Glacier Wrangling Tours in Kenai Fjords National Park.
Starting this summer, adventurous paddlers booking this trip will have the opportunity to do more than just admire floating icebergs...they’ll learn the traditional Alaskan art of glacial wrangling.
“People think icebergs just drift around,” explained senior guide and newly certified Level III Glacier Wrangler Daniel Meuninck. “But with the right technique, and a properly tied lasso, you can coax a perfectly good iceberg into following you back toward the beach.”
Meuninck, the three-time defending champion of the International Glacier Wrangling Invitational and host of The Last Frontier Podcast, once successfully lassoed a rogue growler and towed it nearly half a mile across Holgate Arm.
During the tour, guides will demonstrate the fundamentals of iceberg handling, including:
Reading iceberg behavior (some bergs are friendlier than others)
Proper paddle-and-lasso coordination
How to identify a “Baby Berg,” “Growler,” or the notoriously stubborn “Divorce Maker” class iceberg
Guests will then have the chance to attempt wrangling their own glacier ice under close supervision from Sunny Cove’s professional wrangling team.
“We always start people on smaller ice,” Meuninck said. “You don’t want your first rodeo to be a 20-ton growler.”
Participants who successfully wrangle a piece of glacier ice back to the landing will be rewarded with a complimentary post-trip beverage, served the way Alaskans have enjoyed it for generations...with your freshly wrangled glacier ice.
“One summer I bought all the guides cowboy hats just for fun,” said Sunny Cove owner Stephanie Millane. “Next thing I know everyone’s trying to learn how to lasso something. Unfortunately we were in the middle of the National Park and all we had around us was ice. Little did I know that goofy afternoon would eventually turn into one of our most requested activities.”
Sunny Cove reminds guests that only sustainably harvested, free-range glacier ice will be used, and all wrangling will take place in accordance with Kenai Fjords National Park regulations, common sense, and whatever the tide happens to be doing that day.
“Our guides have been quietly perfecting glacier wrangling for years,” said Millane “It’s time we started sharing this important Alaskan skill with visitors.”
Advanced courses, including Intermediate Iceberg Rodeo and Competitive Berg Towing, are expected to be offered later in the season.
Trips begin April 1. 🤣