Receding Glaciers

Translated and Edited by Irene Auerbach

This is a summary of three articles in Bergauf 2/2019, the ÖAV magazine, all of which discuss global warming, its effect on alpine glaciation and the consequential effects on tourism and our huts.

The ÖAV has been responsible for systematically chronicling the state of Austrian glaciers since 1891, making this research project unique world-wide. For 2018/9 this task was fulfilled by 24 volunteers accompanied by around 60 assistants. The longest serving of these 24 has been doing the job since 1973 (only one of them is female!), dividing the glaciated areas of Austria into twelve districts.

The results for the winter just gone are depressing: of the 93 glaciers monitored, 89 had receded compared with last year, and just four held their own, defined as a change inside 1m. The mean loss in length was 17.2m - less than the 25.2m in 2016/7, but more than the 14.2m of 2015/6. The highest reduction was measured on the Viltragenkees in the Venediger: 128m. Where glaciers did not decrease in size, this is attributed to fluke factors like being in the shade of a mountain for most of the day, so that the winter's snow protects it until late into summer. The temperature of the atmosphere, world-wide, has increased by around 1ºC since 1880, but in the Alps the figure is around 2ºC, of which 1ºC occurred in just the last 40 years.

Those of us walking or climbing in Austria during the summer probably don't need to be told of the practical consequences of glacier shrinkage which goes hand-in-hand with a less visible phenomenon: the thawing of permafrost which, in the Alps, should be present above circa 2500m. Thus the foundations of many of the higher mountain huts, built when permafrost could be relied upon, are now unstable and need expensive reinforcement. Paths above glaciers crumble, because the ice that used to support them now ends many meters lower: many have had to be closed as being too dangerous, and then repaired or rerouted. Floods have become more frequent and more severe, often causing slippage of entire slopes. The Berghaus in Styria was partly washed away in August 2017, involving the section that owns it in enormous expense.

The edges of glaciers are becoming increasingly problematical to negotiate: where once you simply stepped from grass or gravel on to snow and ice, there are now gaping chasms or huge, smoothly polished rocks which can only be negotiated with the help of ladders or ropes.

Even more serious is the fact that with the shrinkage of glaciers, many huts' water supplies are endangered or even fail. Last summer helicopters had to take water to the Kellerjochhütte, and two huts in Vorarlberg received help from tank vehicles. Other huts have laid long pipelines to water sources lower down, but then large amounts of electricity have to be used to pump the water up.

The ÖAV teaches snow and ice skills, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find huts in which to base these courses. It's far from ideal if you want to teach crevasse rescue, but the nearest crevasse is several hours' walk away. Many of the snow and ice tours for which these courses prepare participants can now only be undertaken during the winter: during the summer, they are somewhere between unpleasant (because of glaciers being covered by gravel and boulders) or unduly difficult (because of the obstacles of glacier access already mentioned). They may become unacceptably dangerous, because of increased stone fall: rocks become unstable due to the rise in the altitude where permafrost, which would hold loose stones in place, can still be expected.

Helmets have become a must, and Bergauf recommends that mountaineers reconnoitre routes to the glacier the day before while there is still light. In the morning they have to set off ever earlier in the dark in order to make best use of the still-frozen conditions, through gravelly bouldered areas, some of which have by now even been equipped with cairns sporting "cats' eyes" as on the motorway. Visitors to the brand-new Goüter Hut on Mont Blanc take their lives in their hands, and the alternative, more difficult route via the new Gonella Hut is hardly any safer. Don't trust a hook you find that somebody else left when abseiling down to a glacier: if the glacier has receded further since that hook was knocked in, you may find yourself dangling at the end of a 60m rope, but still well above the glacier.

Nor can we rely on being able to ford mountain streams in our boots: they are becoming much deeper and stronger, and so the choice has to be between finding an alternative crossing or abandoning the ascent. The day when an inflatable will be required to get from the Franz-Josefs-Höhe to Adlersruhe is in sight: setting off really early no longer does the trick. It is crucial to ask for up-to-date local advice, hut wardens usually being the best source.

Wildlife is hardly any better off: plants and animals that require cool surroundings move higher up the slopes as their original habitat warms up until they've reached the summits and there's nowhere left for them to go.

The importance of every single individual among us doing her or his bit to keep global warming in tolerable limits cannot be overemphasized.

Ötztaler Bodenbander-Luftbild

Schlatenkees-ÖAVG, K.Lieb

Schweikertferner in 2011 - ÖAVM Strudl

Schweikertferner in 2018 - ÖAVM Strudl

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