Glaciers ravaged by the infernal heat

While July 2011 was an unusual month in that it was colder than the seasonal average, you don’t need to be an expert to see that August is an unusual month because it is much hotter than normal.

After a start to the season that had raised high hopes, we now find ourselves drawing up a dramatic balance sheet.
The glaciers are struggling at least as much as the people who live down on the plains. The scorching heat spares no one, and while temperatures of around 40° are being recorded in the main cities of the north, readings on the glaciers reach 20 degrees at 3,000 m and 12-13 degrees at 3,600 m.

First, the snow that had settled during the last days of July began to melt: the 20-30 cm that fell above 3,000-3,200 m vanished within 1-2 days, and after that the old ice began to thaw. Last winter’s snow disappeared in the blink of an eye and even the ice of past years gave way in no time at all; the first debris appeared, dirtying the snow, the glacier tongues reaching down towards the valley began a very sharp retreat, losing several metres every week, and now the glaciers have turned from white to black as ice from years ago resurfaces along with its debris.

France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria: there is no country that the heat of recent weeks has not hit, and it is all the glaciers that are paying the price.
In Italy the situation is truly dramatic: the Ghiacciaio Presena (3,000 m) is in serious difficulty, with snow now present only in the hollows and under the geotextile sheets. Here summer skiing ended its season very early, making way for the geotextile sheets, but the situation is very serious and the glacier’s fate now seems sealed.

Ghiacciaio Presena on August 21, 2011

Things are no better on the Stelvio: although skiing continues even these days, the situation is really serious. Last winter’s snow is now just a memory and people are skiing on the old ice. The operators are trying to limit the damage (to tourism) by arguing that the clear night skies bring temperatures below zero, refreezing the snow surface, but if you take a look at the webcams the situation seems fairly critical.

Stelvio on August 21, 2011

Looking beyond the Alps, the situation doesn’t change; if anything, it gets worse.
In Austria, at Hintertux, temperatures reach as much as 12 degrees at 3,200 m in the afternoon; here too the old ice is resurfacing and the colour is turning from pure white to black. Summer skiing nevertheless carries on.

Hintertux Glacier on August 21, 2011

In neighbouring Switzerland, right on the Plateau Rosà glacier, the situation is slightly better, but only because the altitude here is higher. Zermatt can count on ski lifts reaching up to 3,800 m, where the situation, although unusual, remains stable; lower down, however, snow is starting to run short and the first patches of ice are beginning to show.

But perhaps the worst situation is in France: at Les 2 Alpes the glacier is completely gasping for breath and for days the snowpark has been “using” the snow of past winters. At the bottom of the lifts, at 3,200 m, there is no snow left and the glacier is retreating; here, though, the season will close its doors on August 28.

Bottom of the Les 2 Alpes lifts - 3,200 m

Better than any words are the images coming straight from the webcams: one glance is enough to understand what the glaciers are facing these days, and the forecasts predict scorching heat until early September.

Given the conditions, one can’t help wondering whether it might be time to stop summer skiing temporarily… What do you think?