In Les Arcs, a short distance away from the Espace Killy, a huge white tarpaulin has been erected over part of the Aiguille Rouge glacier to slow down its melting in the hot summer sun. The glacier du Varet, which is accessible for winter skiing from the Aiguille Rouge cable car at an altitude of 3,228m, has had an area of 4,000m2 covered at a cost to the resort owners and town hall of a whopping 30,000 Euros! The high tech 'blanket' has a dual purpose, with one side fabricated to reflect the UV rays from the sun and the other to allow condensation to escape so it doesn't have the opposite effect and expedite the melting process. After 2 months of having the cover in place, the regional paper Le Dauphine is reporting that over 1m of thickness has been saved in the covered area versus those parts of the glacier left uncovered...
In 2006 the same process was adopted on the glacier du Grand Motte in Tignes, however it had a very different outcome. The material that was used was porous, and attracted lots of dust and grit when the wind blew. This had the impact of colouring the tarpaulin, making it a dirty black colour which instead of reflecting the heat and light of the sun, absorbed more of it!
This means of protecting the glaciers is merely the tip of the iceberg, if you'll excuse the pun. The area covered recently in Les Arcs represents a mere hundreth of the total size of the Aiguille Rouge glacier, and at such a high cost it is not going to be a sustainable solution for protecting the glaciers from global warming ongoing. However when each glacier is losing between 40m and 50m of thickness every 30 years, it is reassuring to see the resorts willing to put their hands in their pockets and be proactive in safe-guarding what they can.
For more information in French please see http://www.ledauphine.com/fr/Search.aspx?q=aiguille+rouge Photo by JLTraini
If I have enough money, I will buy a big enough tent for the melting glacier!
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