Chapter 1 View from the Etendard
My name is Delphine Six and
I'm a glaciologist at the Laboratory
of Glaciology in Grenoble
and we are here for 2 days with the POW team,
to make the measurement campaign of the St Sorlin Glacier.
So we came here with 2 glaciologists to help them for the measurement campaign of St Sorlin Glacier
and spend 2 amazing days in the mountains around.
So we are here on the St Sorlin Glacier for 2 days, in July,
We measure it for more than 60 years to follow
its evolution and how it answered to the climate change,
and today we have a very particular year, because we are at the end of july,
and all together we were able to touch the snow from the bottom to the top of the glacier,
so it's a year with a lot of snow here, and that's very good for glaciers !
We are at the first point, and we have 40 more to do !
What we did during these 2 days, is measuring the milestones which are set up into the glacier,
and we have 40 milestones on this glacier, from the bottom to the top of it, next to the summit of the Pic de l'Etendard
that our POW team climbed this morning at dusk !
We were very effective...
The number 9 is slightly offset. It is more around here ? Yeah...
It's so wild right, the Pic de l'Etendard !
Ok so we let you finish your work, because it seems you are working !
Yeah we are not in holidays !
At each milestone, we measure the emergence, the colour, and next we do a lot of calculation
to understand the health of the glacier many time during the year and for 60 years now!
We are at milestone 10, this is the highest on the glacier,
and we have to check the colour, because there is several sticks of different colours attached to each others
and after we will measure the emergence of the stick compare to the snow pack
thanks to the probe that Coline already prepared...
Right.... mhhhhh
And what ?!
First measure !!
It's not complicated to be a glaciologist ! Right ?
You should become one !
We will not tell them ! No no we are not !
The St Sorlin Glacier is not different than the other glaciers in the alps
it is loosing volume, thickness and length.
2015 was catastrophic for the glaciers
but 2016 looks like a good year, it is still covert by snow.
We had finally a winter with a lot of snow at these altitude
which is very good for the glacier, like a reprieve for it.
We try to understand here how the sun radiation,
the atmosphère, the humidity, the wind
are influencing the snow and ice melt
Look a these rock at the bottom of the slope
2 years ago they were not visible
Same at the top on the ridge,
in real summer without snow, there is a huge difference...
So we checked 5 milestones, and them almost 40 !
It's was my first time in the mountain after my surgery
and it really give another dimension, another approach to the mountain
It's amazing to have another view on our environment, where we ride or climb usually
In Freestyle skiing, it's not the most sustainable practice
but I'd like more and more people to have this in mind, and act to reduce our impact
If the climate change is getting worst, in 2050 it will be impossible to climb
on the glacier of St Sorlin to reach the Pic de l'Etendard
This glacier will have disappeared.
It's pretty rare but 4 glaciologist girls in a team of 4, we beat some records !
and 2 very competent interns !
Yeah and we had a lot of fun !