Titre
Effects of climate change on high Alpine mountain environments: Evolution of mountaineering routes in the Mont Blanc massif (Western Alps) over half a century
Type
article
Institution
Externe
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Mourey, Jacques
Auteure/Auteur
Marcuzzi, Mélanie
Auteure/Auteur
Ravanel, Ludovic
Auteure/Auteur
Pallandre, François
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
ISSN
1523-0430
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2019-01-01
Volume
51
Numéro
1
Première page
176
Dernière page/numéro d’article
189
Langue
anglais
Résumé
In high alpine environments, glacial shrinkage and permafrost warming due to climate change have significant consequences on mountaineering routes. Few research projects have studied the relationship between climate change and mountaineering; this study attempts to characterize and explain the evolution over the past 40 years of the routes described in The Mont Blanc Massif: The 100 Finest Routes, Gaston Rébuffat’s emblematic guidebook, published in 1973.The main elements studied were the geomorphic and cryospheric changes at work and their impacts on the itinerary’s climbing parameters, determining the manner and possibility for an itinerary to be climbed. Thirty-one interviews, and comparison with other guidebooks, led to the identification of 25 geomorphic and cryospheric changes related to climate change that are affecting mountaineering itineraries. On average, an itinerary has been affected by nine changes. Among the 95 itineraries studied, 93 have been affected by the effects of climate change – 26 of them have been greatly affected; and three no longer exist. Moreover, periods during which these itineraries can be climbed in good conditions in summer have tended to become less predictable and periods of optimal conditions have shifted toward spring and fall, because the itineraries have become more dangerous and technically more challenging.
Sujets
PID Serval
serval:BIB_BF96EF9683EC
Open Access
Oui
Date de création
2020-11-18T09:18:12.278Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-20T22:44:02Z