May 2021

American researchers have found that Greenland is “becoming darker” as the ice and snow that formerly permanently covered much of it is melting away due to climate change. The increasingly darker landmass means the rate of melting is likely to accelerate as the darker land absorbs heat, rather than reflecting it away as white snow does. The findings of a 2016-17 study of Greenland's ice sheet by scientists from Dartmouth College have been published in Geophysical Research Letters. "As snow ages, even over hours to a few days, you get this reduction in reflectivity, and that's why the fresh snow is so important," says Erich Osterberg, associate professor of earth sciences and the principal investigator of the study. The scientists…

Chamonix has confirmed an ambitious 27 million Euros project, involving a new lift to provide access to the glacier for skiers and boarders reaching the end of the skiable section of the Vallee Blanche, is moving forward. The Vallee Blanche, a world-famous off-piste descent and also the longest lift-served run in the world by most measures, has become increasingly problematic in recent years at its lower end as global warming has dramatically reduced the glacier’s depth and extent. 30 years ago there were just three steps up from the snow-covered blue ice surface to the lift up to Monenvers for the train ride back to Chamonix.  By 2000 the declining thickness of the glacier meant that gap had grown to…

Two New Zealand ski areas won’t offer waste bins for rubbish that can’t be recycled when they open for winter 20-21 in a few weeks’ time. Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone Ski Area this ski season, which are under joint ownership, say that having “be no public-facing landfill bins” at either resort is just one of several significant changes being made across their operation. “We’ve made a lot of small changes over the years, like removing single use coffee cups and PET plastic bottles from our food and beverage outlets, and we’ve been proud to be an industry leader in this space,” says Cardrona and Treble Cone General Manager, Bridget Legnavsky. “But now it is time to make big…