The picture I used for the header of these pages was taken in July 2018. It is a picture of the Morteratsch glacier in Pontresina, Switzerland. This glacier slowly slides of the Morteratsch, the Bernina, the Bella Vista, the Piz Palü and some other less known mountains. These peaks have a height of about 4000 meters and form the Bernina range in the Bündner Alps. This picture shows just one of the many marvellous sights in the alps.
About 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to descend this glacier under the guidance of a Swiss mountain guide. It was a descent of about 1100 altimeters. This descent was a very memorable experience and probably one of the nicest hikes I have done so far.
The sad news is that since the time I descended the glacier, in July 2009, the glacier has retreated almost 1.5 kilometres. From what I could see at the tongue when I visited the site in July 2018, the Pers Glacier coming off the Piz Palü was not even attached to the main glacier anymore...
This is an indication that indeed climate is changing, and probably more rapidly than we even notice now. In my opinion, this rapid melting of glaciers will eventually have a serious impact on the global availability of drinking water, knowing that about 70% of all drinking water is locked up in glaciers.
