Mount Olympus Snow Forecast

One idea being tested on several glaciers around the world in recent years has been to use snowmaking to create a layer of artificial snow in an effort to stop melting and even rebuild glaciers. However results of a study into using snowmaking on the Morteratsch glacier which has been running for two years in south-eastern Switzerland have found that while the process can slow melting, it does not stop it, nor does it stabilise the thawing glacier as a whole. In recent years glacial ice has more and more often been exposed to the direct heat of the summer sun as the ‘protective layer’ of winter snow is quickly melted off the ice during the spring. The darker ice