Glaciers hanging in there

Earlier this week, we learned that global climate changes could have devastating effects on the ski industry in the next hundred years. That was a frightening prediction.

Now for something more comforting: Rocky Mountain National Park's four glaciers (including Taylor, in the above photo) haven't shrunk much since the 1930s. Recent studies showed that the Arapaho and Arikee glaciers in Indian Peaks Wilderness south of the park have lost more than 60 feet of ice thickness since 1960, mostly due to the warming climate and extended season of melting. But the glaciers in the park have been much more stable, probably because of a combination of plenty of shade, snow that blows in from the west side of the Continental Divide, and steady cold temperatures.

Wonder if glacier skiing will be popular in 3006.




.