Day 10, Monday Glacier Blanc by Keith

The 4 of us got up early to miss the extreme heat of the day during the climb. Terry drove us up past Ailefroide climbing centre and parked at Refuge du Pré de Madame Carle. In the car park, we saw three chamois (mountain deer) and 4 marmots. The sunny conditions were actually cloudy with very light rain. We set off up the hill and crossed several glacial streams. After about an hour, we saw the Glacier Blanc. Marcus had told us all about the hidden glacier noir with its covering of rocks and debris.

After a short rest, we descended to the infamous bridge for the annual photograph to show how fast the glacier was retreating. We then headed on up in light non-wetting rain towards the ancient refuge. After about 30 minutes, we climbed up the Refuge du Glacier Blanc. There was still some non-wetting rain falling, so we headed inside to the warmth of the dining area. 4 bowls of hot drinks were purchased, but Terry had dropped in on a game of chess being played by some German walkers and proceeded to tell them the rules of the game. After constant coaching from Terry, the next game had him playing against all three. 45 minutes later, and he was still playing!

We eventually headed down in the still non-wetting rain and emerged at the Ecrins museum, which was now open. The photos and models of the glacial recession were impressive. We finished with drinks at Refuge du Pré de Madame Carle.

Glacier Blanc (like 90% of the world’s glaciers) has been retreating (Shrinking) over the last 100 years due mainly to global warming.

Glacier Blanc is on the east side of Barre Des Ecrins, the southernmost of the 4000 m peaks in the Alps. It is the largest glacier on the peak. The glacier began a sustained retreat after 1870, which ceased in 1895-1900, 1915-1920, 1935-1940 and 1980-1990 (Cossart et al, 2006). The glacier has shrunk by 5-10% of the total glacier volume during 1981-2005 (Rabatel et al, 2008). The series of images below is used to examine the retreat over the last 14 years of Glacier Blanc with LCC trips to the region. The first image is from 2008 and shows the glacier very low down and almost level with the bridge. By 2025, it has retreated right up the valley and is now a long way above the refuge at 2550m.