States of Dying …

… glacier style. The Tsanfleuron Glacier that is still there looks as dirty as the rock and dust it has scraped off the bedrock which gives it more darkness to further absorb the heat. You can see sheets of rock in the middle of the photo that used to be covered with ice not many years ago. From the summit of the Oldenhorn (3,122m) I took a panoramic view of the glacier (extra), looking like a grubby handkerchief below. Glaciers used to be white with snow and turquoise blue where the ice bulged through when I first started climbing in the Alps half a century ago. On the horizon you can see some of the 4000m peaks, like the Matterhorn and the Dent Blanche. The ice they host is now rotting and creating very dangerous conditions for climbers. You can see the heat haze in the valleys. 

Sorry to be depressing today. I had a great day out and met up with our friends Sherpa Pema and Lobsang (extra) who were improving the footpath on the the Oldenhorn, then I met my dear Japanese friends who were supposed to be with me today but a series of mishaps made it impossible for them. The images that stay with me though, are those of a glacier melting so quickly (extra) I can’t imagine my grandchildren being able to appreciate the high mountains that I was fortunate enough to experience half a century ago.