On June 19, 2011 the Ghiacciaio Presena (3,000 m) closed the very long 2010/2011 ski season, which began in the last days of October 2010 and was interrupted only by a short spring break.
After so much snow and so many skiers, the Adamello glacier goes back to sleep, waiting for another fantastic ski season.
But once the snow season is over, the Presena has to reckon with the scorching summer months that threaten its existence every year. It is the days of July and August that disturb its peaceful rest. Temperatures start to climb until they reach 20 degrees, with the resulting rapid melting of the snow. Over the last 50 years the glacier has seen most of its surface disappear, so much so that some glaciologists have described it as a glacier on the verge of extinction.
To prevent the loss of such a great heritage, the Adamello Ski area, in collaboration with the University of Trento, has devised a solution that could slow down its thawing and save the Presena.
The solution the experts came up with is to cover the glacier with special geotextile sheets capable of reflecting sunlight, thus preventing the sun’s rays from melting the snowpack underneath.
2 metres of snow saved every year
The results are there and they have been exciting from the very beginning: a good 2 metres of snow saved in the first year and 1.80 m the following year. No less than 80,000 cubic metres of snow are saved every year, over an area that is extended each season thanks to funding allocated by Trentino. A result that not only gives hope for a definitive solution to the problem of global warming, but also makes it possible to open the ski season 1 month early, recouping part of the money invested.
Whereas in the first attempt 3 years ago the sheets covered an area of 45,000 m², in 2011 the geotextile sheets will cover a good 90,000 square metres, exactly double, saving twice the snow-covered surface.
The Adamello glacier is a destination not only for skiers and hikers, but also for scientists and researchers who, in other parts of the world, are trying to find a solution to the problem of global warming.
If you want to see the sheets in person, you can go up to the glacier with the lifts, which will remain in operation all summer long for hikers.
If you are interested in the topic of geotextile sheets, we recommend these in-depth articles:
> Ghiacciaio Presena: 2 metres of snow saved thanks to the “anti-global warming” sheets
> The Slopes of the Ghiacciaio Presena Close and the Geotextile Sheets Return
> Global warming will kill ski tourism within 30 years [DOCUMENTARY]
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