Shrinking glaciers and Mountain Wilderness

by Richard Goedeke

We have images of the former might and splendour of the glaciers before our eyes and in our hearts.

The new sights make us sad. What is particularly sad is that we now know that this decline is largely due to our collective economy based on the burning of fossil fuels. That we all have contributed to its decline by travelling and flying. And that we are still contributing to it. That is why we should not be content with our grief. Instead, we must name the polluters and consistently push for a rapid energy transition. And we must take part in it ourselves. We must stop burning coal, oil and gas. Renewable energy generation is available. And their utilisation is even far cheaper in terms of overall costs!

What can we as Mountain Wilderness think of?

First of all, the damage to the glaciers caused by lifts and pistes must be stopped. Every slope grooming, but also skiing itself, intensifies the erosion processes on the ice. This causes the glaciers to shrink faster.

Artificial snowmaking makes things worse. It is anything but compatible with its extensive construction of facilities, including water reservoirs and drainage, and the enormous amount of energy required.

Attempts to cover the ice with plastic sheets are also not a sustainable solution. And if the snow that is kept over the warm season is then carted around to patch up the pistes, it is certainly not sustainable either. This eats up new fossil energy and makes endless noise. And on top of that, it looks horrible with the rubbish dump look.

As MW, we must therefore demand that the slopes on the glaciers be given up and the lifts dismantled. Even if the tourism industry doesn’t want this. Otherwise, we should watch the glaciers disintegrate and melt and respect this as a great natural process.

New biotopes will emerge in the growing glacier forelands through spontaneous recolonisation. This is potential for new wilderness.

If nothing intervenes.

Because we also need to see the bigger picture.

The melting of glaciers is having a drastic impact worldwide. The water previously stored in the mountains in the form of snow and ice supplied lowlands with good fresh water. Millions of people lived on this. If the rivers that were previously fed by glaciers all year round dry up in the hot season, these countries will become largely desert. Only artificial water reservoirs that hold the precipitation water from the wet seasons for the dry seasons can help against this.

As Mountain Wilderness, we are therefore faced with an important question: do we want to fundamentally uphold our interest in preserving wilderness in the face of such necessities everywhere? I think No.

I think we would be better off focussing our limited resources on another demand: How can the change in the water balance be resolved in a moderate and generally acceptable way? In a way that is more compatible for nature as a whole and for people. For example, large-scale projects with giant dams must be avoided. They have a much greater potential for risks and breakdowns. Instead, many smaller dams should be promoted. They are more sustainable. And forests. And horticulture. And dry farming with utilisation of the soil as a reservoir. And much more.

When developing and installing wind power capacity, it must be considered that the turbines require roads and power lines for construction and maintenance. Therefore, they should never be placed on the big peaks or ridges. Instead, they should be closer to existing infrastructure. This is what we should demand.

Photovoltaics can be installed particularly well on existing buildings and other infrastructure. We should also demand this.

Besides we should support and promote nature-compatible forms of agriculture and architecture and production structures. There is room for new creative challenges. It is worthwhile there.

If necessary, the defence of the original wilderness areas must take a back seat to such major solutions. However, there will still be many areas where our original demands are still valuable. Where planetary change is making spaces less important for general economic development this gives room for new wilderness. Spontaneous growth of plants and animal life will take place there. We can help here and promote and strengthen this. We also should support such new wilderness by law. And we can fight for and organise the dismantling of abandoned facilities and disruptive installations.

And we can rethink mountain sports. We should redefine the idea of “by fair means”. The access must be seen as a part of the challenge. It must begin at the end of the terminals of public transport and end at such terminals. The more we walk to the start of our climbs or routes the higher the value of the enterprise. And if we use the bike it should only be muscle-powered…