Melting MoutainsGlaciers, Climate Change, and Society in the European Alps
One Last Glacier
Despite the radio silence the last couple of days our group has been busy conducting field research on the Hintereisferner. We were fortunate to have Professor Rainer from the Univeristy of Innsbruck guide us to the research station on the Hintereisferner and teach us various research methods that they conduct on the galcier. Some of […]
Ice (man) Ice (man) Baby
Today we ventured to Bolzano, Italy. We paid a visit to see Ötzi, the iceman that was found in the Alps on the Italian side of the alpine border between Italy and Austria. He had been preserved in the glacier for about 5,000 years. The museum where he was kept was very thorough, providing so […]
Welcome to Austria!
Today, we traveled from Pontresina to Innsbruck, Austria. This is the final city we are traveling to. Innsbruck is known for its culture and its alpine adventures so much that it has been a part of two Winter Olympic Games with its world famous ski slopes. It’s famous winter events is intriguing to our entire […]
Group Poetry
The whole class was asked to write poetry as a reflection on their experience with and on glaciers. Here are the results! Glaciers are fast in recession But still they make an impression For many they are a beautiful sight Others think they are alright But for Jeff they are his obsession -Cat Lim Glacier […]
The Art of Glaciers
Today was a truly liberal arts experience. We spent the morning thinking about proposed solutions to slow glacial melt and climate change, and got to see some firsthand. On the Vadre Pers Glacier, we saw one method of slowing glacial melt: covering the glacier with a white, insulating blanket. This helps to slow glacier melt […]
We Love a Survey!
Today we made a blissful hike up to the snout (an alternative term for the terminus) of the Morterartsch glacier near Pontresina, Switerland. Our mission for the day was to perform several ecological surveys based on the concept of space-for-time. When applied to glaciers, this concept allows us to observe the space and conditions where […]
Hut Hut Hike
Monday and Tuesday were quite a whirlwind. We completed a through hike across multiple glaciers from Grindelwald to Pontresina. We started our journey on the Jungfraujoch railway that snaked through the Matterhorn. All roped up in two groups, we began our hike in dense fog to the Koncordia hut. Our journey down to the hut […]
Glaciers in Art
Recently, our group went through a small schedule change. As a group, last night, we decided that we would change our schedule and not spend two nights at the Konkordia Hut. Instead, as a way to welcome Betsy Beyers to our group, we wanted to spend the afternoon touring the Keineismeehr exhibit in Interlaken and […]
It’s Electric!
Where does most of the electricity come from in Switzerland? Well this was new to us as well! Today we learned the ins and outs of hydro-power plants and what it means for the economy and community. Today we had an early start going into our train-hopping adventure. Walking confidently up to our train, it […]
A Hikin’ Good Time
We woke up on Thursday morning to a standard, but yummy, breakfast of fresh bread, yogurt and some good Switzerland cheeses. With full bellies, we set out to town to catch the gondola for a hike. This was the oldest gondola in Grindelwald, complete with polka music playing in the gondola on our way up. […]