Glacier wrap: Survival, not art.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2005/04/02/etnglacier02.xml&sSheet=/travel/2005/04/02/ixtrvhome.html

Swiss ski resort is taking a novel approach to the problems posed by global warming: it plans to wrap up a glacier.



Geographers at Zurich University have predicted that within the next 30 years 70 per cent of Switzerland's glaciers will have disappeared. Without preventative intervention, skiing could be restricted to a handful of high-altitude resorts.

In May, once the ski season is over, more than 3,000 square metres of the Gurschen glacier above the resort of Andermatt is to be covered with an insulating PVC foam. This, it is hoped, will protect the snow layer from heat, ultraviolet rays and rain, halting the recession of the glacier. The foam costs £45,000, but it can be stored during the winter and reused.

"If the trial is a success, we'll wrap up other parts of the glacier, too," said Carlo Danioth, a spokesman for the resort. "With the icefield receding by five metres each year, we need to act immediately to prevent further loss."

Other Swiss resorts, including Saas-Fee and Engelberg-Titlis, and ski centres in Austria are considering similar measures and will be watching the Andermatt trial closely.

The Zurich University study, carried out using satellite data, predicts that lower Alpine resorts across Europe will suffer severely from global warming. A spokesman for the university said: "Many central and eastern parts of Austria will lose their winter tourist industry altogether." Half of Italy's winter sport resorts are below 1,300 metres and according to the study can expect few winters with snow in the future