-
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 !