Inside the Glacier
INSIDE THE GLACIER
A Gitzo Story By Aurelie Gonin
Glaciers are in constant motion. They slide over the bedrock of the mountains, following the relief of the terrain. This creates crevasses and seracs, which are constantly moving in this inexorable descent.
La mer de glace, in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, is France's largest glacier. It originates around Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe reaching 4,810 metres. From there, it flows down like a river for twelve kilometers, until it reaches the Mottets rock, near the Montenvers train station, which attracts many tourists.
As a result of global warming, which is twice as pronounced in the mountains as in the plains, the glacier is melting, losing thickness and length. Between 1993 and 2012, the Mer de Glace lost over 650 metres in length and 100 metres in thickness in its lower reaches. The phenomenon has accelerated in recent years, with up to fifteen meters of thickness lost per year, due to very hot summers.
As the ice melts in summer, it becomes liquid and runs off, digging galleries on and under the glacier, which can be very deep. Occasionally, it's possible to venture into one of them, to admire the interior of the giant.
To access the glacier, you'll need touring skis from November to May, then crampons during the summer season. The dangers of the terrain are numerous: falling into crevasses, falling seracs or rocks, avalanches, not to mention the dangers of collapsing galleries. But the spectacle of these landscapes, all the more magical for their ephemeral nature, is well worth the effort. Ice, like water of which it is the solid phase, has the property of absorbing all the colors of the rainbow except blue, which it reflects. Light passing through ice creates extraordinary shades of color.
To discover these special places, you'll need all the mountain gear (harness, ice screw, crampons, ice axe, shovel, probe, avalanche transceiver, ski skins, warm clothing, food), which makes for a pretty full bag. The 's lightness and compactness mean that you can also take it with you, in addition to your chosen camera. I opted for the Nikon Z8 and the 14-30mm wide-angle lens, also very compact and light, and perfect for framing the reflections of light on the ice, as well as the greatness of the location.
It's a thrilling experience to be inside a glacier, which you usually walk on the surface, taking great care not to fall into a crevasse. We can't remain indifferent to the suffering of these giants, doomed to disappear in the coming decades due to rising temperatures. But we can also be amazed by the shapes created by their melting, like these galleries dug by the passage of water, and enjoy them while we can.