The Alps in 2000 and 2003
Europe was hit by a massive heatwave (christened Michaela) in the Summer of 2003 which had a major effect on the alps. In effect the season was more or less over in mid-July, most of the snow was gone and consequently most of the routes were undoable. In Chamonix Mt. Maudit was unclimbable, and between unseasonally intense rockfalls and collapsing seracs about 40 people a day were being rescued from the Gouté route. In Switzerland steam was seen coming off the Matterhorn and across the continent lakes and rivers sank to all time lows.
As a result, Ailefroide, one of my favourite alpine areas, didn't really impress my friends, and so, to prove my claims that "it really was better last time" here's a comparison. It takes in the route up to the Ecrins hut going over (or along) the Glacier Blanc.
By default the 2000 photos are displayed, but you can use the "View 2003" links to view the 2003 versions (at which point a "View 2000" link will appear).
The Bridge
This bridge runs just below the snout of the Glacier, it's the first main point on the way up. At this point things don't look too bad, though there's not quite as much snow on Pelvoux (on the left) in 2003 as there was in 2000.
The Snout of the Glacier Blanc
Looking up from the bridge, it's pretty clear that the glacier has gone back about six to ten so feet in the three years since 2000, especially on the right. Most of that retreat happened that year, but given the dry winters and warm Summers that have followed since, I doubt it has recovered much since then.
(The 2000 photo was taken by Jiri Horak)
First Look at the Glacier Blanc's Surface
After the bridge the path continues up to the Glacier Blanc hut and then along the morraine for a while before finally ending. You may be wondering what that grey rocky mass in the 2003 photo is. That's actually the glacier, the same one which was white with fresh snow in 2000. In 2003 the snow was melted off, exposing the ice. This is known as a "dry" glacier.
(The 2000 photo was taken for Conor O'Mahony by Jiri Horak)
Looking along the Glacier to the Hut
In 2000, when the path ended, you hopped onto the Glacier and strolled the rest of the way, only hitting the rock at the very end to climb up to the hut. Not in 2003. With the Glacier exposed it was necessary to clamber over the rocks on the right, ultimately joining the Glacier for the last 100 yards, before hitting up to the hut. If you look at the reddish rocks on the right, in the near-foreground, you can see that the glacier is about 10 feet lower in 2003 than it was in 2000. While half of that could be explained by the snow, the other half was melting ice.
The Happy Climbers!
We had a far easier time in 2000 than in 2003. I had to turn away from one route simply because it was too dangerous: where there should have been snow there was just unstable scree, and ascent was rendered impossible. The conditions came as a shock to everyone. Still, despite the terrible 2003 photo, I did actually have a good time in 2003
Since then I've only gone back to the alps once more, in 2006. This wasn't particularly planned, I just wanted to try out different countries for a while. In 2006, I went back to the Chamonix for my second visit. While an unseasonally late snowfall had ensured there was snow, the glaciers were still visibly retreating. Of course, it must be said, glaciers have been retreating for a while. In 1900 the Glacier des Bossons descended right down into the valley, and has steadily retreated up the mountain over the last 100 years. Another glacier, the Glacier des Bois disappeared entirely around the sixties. So this is not particularly new.
Still, it is somewhat unsettling to behold it. It's still too early to see if this is a temporary fluctuation in the weather, but it's unlikely. The last cold-snap, in the 50s and 60s, was due to the amount of coal being burned in the world (the resulting sulphur dioxide blocked out the sunlight1). If you thus omit that, the fact is that world temperatures have been rising pretty steadily since the mid-nineteenth century, possibly longer. In 25 years' time, some routes that I've climbed may have become radically altered.
