The glacier balance closes in positive territory at the end of this first part of summer 2013. After years of disastrous balances and glaciers retreating before our very eyes across the Alps, the glaciers have room to breathe again.
Abundant snowfalls in winter and a polar-flavored spring gave the glaciers a boost right from the opening weeks of summer: in mid-June, snow covered every mountain above 2,600 m, with a snowpack that in some places even exceeded 5 meters.
Rifugio Boè reopened its doors with nearly 3 meters of snow; at 2,800 meters of altitude, June had not begun with midwinter weather conditions in years.
Rifugio Boe' buried in snow in June 2013
Causing an even bigger sensation was the opening of the ski slopes in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the middle of summer: kicking off summer skiing was the “Freccia nel Cielo” lift company, which restarted the chairlift in Ra Valles—something that had not happened in 12 years!
Music lovers also had to brave the snow: to reach the venue of the “Suoni delle Dolomiti” concert stop in San Martino di Castrozza, concertgoers had to cross a snowfield at 2,500 meters of altitude, an unusual sight for the month of July.
Positive Snow Balance
As we do every year, we pause to observe the condition of Italian glaciers during the summer; the easiest areas to monitor are undoubtedly the resorts where summer skiing takes place, such as Passo Stelvio, Les 2 Alpes, Tignes, etc.
The webcams on the slopes offer reassuring images, showing that ancient glacier ice has not yet resurfaced except in a few isolated spots—a sign that the winter snowpack has not yet melted.
On the Stelvio glacier, for instance, this winter’s snow is holding up well and summer skiing continues smoothly; snow is also present in several hollows at lower elevations, a telltale sign of the abundant snow left behind during the winter.
The Presena Glacier is holding up well too, and the geotextile sheets continue to do their valuable job of preserving the snow.
Stelvio in late July 2013
Presena Glacier in late July 2013
Looking across the Alps toward the French glaciers, we can see that Tignes and Les 2 Alpes are faring similarly: in France too, the favorable winter season is helping glaciers withstand the scorching summer heat that has been battering the entire Alpine arc for the past few weeks.
Additional support for the glaciers came from a few isolated storms that brought snow back to high altitude in mid-July, blanketing the summer landscape once again.
Tignes in late July 2013
Les 2 Alpes in late July 2013
Everything can change with August
This good news is not enough on its own, however: before celebrating, we will have to wait until the end of summer, and especially the end of August. Indeed, much of the positive result achieved so far is thanks to a spring that never really arrived and a summer that only recently began to make itself felt.
If August continues with temperatures nearing 40 degrees in the plains, things will not be easy at 3,000 meters either. Scorching heat could return the glaciers to alarming conditions within just a few weeks.
All we can do is hope for a summer with normal temperatures capable of preserving at least the historic ice surface of our precious Alpine glaciers.
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