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Val Thorens covers the glacier de Chavicre next spring
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

Quote:
After the Swiss and the Austrians tried and succeeded, now the French have decided to wrap up their glaciers during the summer months in an attempt to reduce snow and ice melt in between ski seasons. Next spring, Val Thorens, Europes’ highest ski resort, hopes to cover 750m2 of the glacier de Chavicre with a white synthetic blanket that has already proven successful in Andermatt in Switzerland (photo) and on the Stubai glacier, Austria.

Too late for this summer, the resort hopes to put the blanket in place in spring 2008 and remove it in the autumn as the first snow begins to fall. Mountain guides that work in the resort have commented that the rate the glacier has receded over the last 20 years is astonishing. As one of the most beautiful view points in the area, there is obviously much support for the project to go ahead.

However, before that can happen, SETAM, the VT lift company, need to convince the powers that oversee the Vanoise National Park, as the area to be protected is right on the perimeter of the park. The park commission are currently struggling with the idea of putting an artificial cover the size of a football field in the middle of a protected area, worried about the message it will put across to the general public.

SETAM should have a response by the middle of next month as to whether they can proceed or not, but they are hoping that the success of the Swiss and Austrian projects will go in their favour. Both these previous tests proved conclusively that the blanket reduced glacial recession by as much as 60%. Val d’Isere, Tignes and Les 2 Alpes have also expressed an interest in the protective blanket and will be watching with interest the results in VT if it goes ahead.

http://www.merinet.com/whats_new_article.php?id_whats_new=2298&id_back=1
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