At the beginning of the year, the news hit the headlines that in the foreseeable future we would have to say goodbye to a natural phenomenon that seemed inextricably linked to the Alps and other high mountains: their year-round ice caps, the glaciers. The specialist magazine Science had published a scientific study according to which almost half of all mountain glaciers worldwide are likely to disappear by the year 2100 – even in the now seemingly unrealistic case that we manage to stop global warming, as at the UN climate conference in Paris Decided in 2015 to keep at a maximum of 1.5 degrees.
If, on the other hand, the forecast is based on the specific climate protection measures agreed by the global community at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in 2021, according to the study, a temperature increase of 2.7 degrees would have to be assumed. In this case, the mountain glaciers in many regions of the world should have disappeared completely by the end of the century. A conversation with a longtime eyewitness to this farewell, which is no longer so slow, the photographer and geologist Bernhard Edmaier.
Mr. Edmaier, do you remember where you were on July 3, 2022?
Bernhard Edmaier: Hmm. I have to think about that now.
That was the day when a glacier fell on the Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites, as a result of unusually high temperatures, eleven climbers died.
Ah right. The glacial fall was massive! Shortly before that, at the end of June, I was still in the area – of all things because of the melting Alpine glaciers: I was in Trento for the printing of the illustrated book “Alpeneis” – and in South Tyrol to prepare exhibitions that will take place in 2023 in two of the “Messner Mountain Museums ” take place.
In the book “Alpeneis” you also show Marmolada aerial photographs from July 2006. Did you follow how the glacier there had changed before the fall?
Not in detail. But it’s amazing how quickly he’s shrunk. And that actually applies to all Alpine glaciers. On the Marmolada one can hardly speak of a glacier anymore. These are actually only smaller ice fields. Nevertheless, the ice collapse was large enough for a great disaster. Unfortunately, the normal route for the ascent to the summit runs just below the residual glacier.
How long have you been photographing the glaciers of the Alps?
For more than 30 years. In 2003 I took intensive aerial photographs for the first time. That was also a record summer, in which the glaciers melted rapidly.
The photographer and geologist Bernhard EdmaierAngelika Jung-Hüttl
How are your aerial photos created?
Most from the helicopter. Sometimes from a small sports plane. That’s okay for overview shots. But if you want to get closer to the ice, you can actually only do it by helicopter. Now you’re probably asking: why not by drone?
tell me
There are many reasons. First of all, I can’t get to many areas that are interesting to me with a drone.
Why not?
Too high. I need flight altitudes that would no longer be allowed with the drone. Such are the legal regulations. So that the drone and the rest of the air traffic don’t get in each other’s way. In addition, a drone must fly within sight. This means that steep glacial cliffs would often be out of reach for me. And a very crucial point, especially for the “Alpeneis” book: I’m not allowed to fly a drone in national parks at all. This is only possible with a special permit by helicopter.
So bureaucratic reasons.
Well, and as a photographer, it’s important to me that I see the whole thing first. And then go straight for my motives. I can’t imagine working with a drone on such a small screen. This is not how I work at all.
How long are you typically in the air for a helicopter photo safari?
Unfortunately very short – for cost reasons. But there are a lot of helicopter companies in the Alps. And in this respect you have relatively short approach routes. A normal photo flight lasts one and a half hours.
To person
Bernhard Edmaier is a photographer and geologist. His aerial images combine high-quality photography and science; his illustrated books have received several awards. For his book and photo projects, he repeatedly travels to remote areas of the world. His partner, the science journalist Angelika Jung-Hüttl, often accompanies him. Together with him she develops the photo projects, writes the texts for his books and organizes the photo exhibitions.
What are the challenges with this type of glacier photography?
Aerial photos in the high mountains are always a bit more difficult. Because of the turbulence. And depending on the flight altitude, it is relatively cold. So overall it’s not comfortable.
And what is the appeal of it for you?
When you get a little closer to the different glaciers… just amazing what a variety of shapes it is! The crevasses alone – there are umpteen different patterns and very bizarre ice breaks. The colors of the ice too: At first glance, everything looks rather dirty white and gray – but if you get closer, you discover an incredible variety of gray and blue tones. Glaciers are a fantastic phenomenon!
Do you know how many Alpine glaciers you’ve seen?
hundreds.
Fiescher Glacier, Switzerland. In summer it looks greyish because of the debris that covers the ice. The glacier is still around 14 kilometers long. In the 100 years between 1891 and 1991, it became 734 meters shorter. From 1991 to 2020, in just 29 years, he lost another 901 meters.Bernhard Edmaier
There are around 4400 left in total, right?
That’s the official number. But it is also a question of definition. The southern Schneeferner on the Zugspitze, for example, has officially not been a glacier since September. Because a glacier has to move by definition – an ice field that has become too small for this and is therefore stationary no longer counts. We only had five glaciers left in Germany anyway. Now four remain: Northern Schneeferner and Höllentalferner on the Zugspitze, Blaueis and Watzmanngletscher in the Berchtesgaden Alps.
You have visited some Alpine glaciers twice, almost 20 years apart. These pairs of images show particularly impressively how quickly the ice has retreated.
We wanted to show that in the book with four or five examples. Because the extreme decline is very easy to understand for the layman. You can see how much the landscape has changed.
You are a geologist. As a photographer, how do you feel when you see the rapidly receding glaciers? And what does the scientist in you think?
The photographer – and the mountain lover – is extremely sad. Because for me, the glaciers are one of the greatest phenomena in the Alps. And this phenomenon is now really disappearing relatively quickly. It’s interesting for the geologist because landscapes usually change slowly, thousands or hundreds of thousands or millions of years. And that is now a process that can be followed and observed on an annual basis.
Not only the surface glaciers are melting. The permafrost that “glues” the high mountain rock is also thawing.
Yes, you can clearly see the consequences. Much more debris lies on the glacier surfaces. The rockfall increases significantly. There are also larger rockfalls, up to real landslides.
Your glacier pictures show a disappearance. But also how nature breathes new life into the vacated areas.
When the glaciers disappear, there aren’t just dumps of rubble. Lakes are created. The vegetation follows relatively quickly. When something old goes, something new emerges, like everywhere on the surface of the earth – I also want to show that with my pictures. It’s a never-ending cycle.
Seen in this way, should one also look at climate change more calmly? The history of the earth is characterized by constant ups and downs in temperature, as your co-author Angelika Jung-Hüttl points out in “Alpeneis”.
There have always been changes between cold and warm periods, that’s important to know. But what we are witnessing now is not comparable to previous temperature fluctuations. The current warming is unprecedented. It’s never been so quick. Nowhere can you see this better than on the glaciers.
Rother Bergbverlag
Bernhard Edmaier and Angelika Jung-Hüttl: “Alpine ice. Glaciers and permafrost in climate change”. Rother Verlag, Oberhaching 2022. 224 pages, 49.90 euros