This Video From Chamonix’s Glaciers Is A Reminder That Climate Change Sucks

If there’s one place in the world that serves as a stark example of the devastating effects of changing climate, it’s Chamonix’s Mer De Glace. The massive glacier running from the flanks of Mont Blanc once reached the outskirts of the town of Chamonix. Today, the foot of the glacier is thousands of feet above the valley floor, and is continuing to melt at an unprecedented pace. For anyone who has ever been lucky enough to climb or ski in those mountains, you’ll remember the markers put in place on the ascent out of the glacier, standing like gravestones reminding us of the past. It's not just inconvenient that the climb gets longer and harder every year, the melting ice is literally causing these mountains to crumble.

Luc Hardy’s short film clearly shows these effects, and his reminder echoes deeply:

In 1985 a gondola was built to access the glacier. Unfortunately, like many others, this glacier is shrinking. Each year, steps must be added to walk down to it. Here we are at the level of the glacier when I was skiing down the Vallée Blanche before the installation of the gondola. A few more years and there will be no ice left in this part of the valley.