Vonn, Shiffrin and Brignone among the Olympic skiers voicing concern over receding glaciers
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — U.S. skiers team Lindsey Vonn And Mikaela ShiffrinBesides Italy Federica Brignoneis among the many skiers who have voiced their concerns during these Olympic Games. accelerating melting of the world’s glaciers.
And Cortina, the city that hosted the Olympics a place for them to talk about climate change: The glaciers that were once visible from the town have shrunk significantly. Many have been reduced to small glaciers or ice remnants at high altitudes among the jagged peaks of the Dolomites. Any Olympic athlete or spectator who wants to see a massive glacier will need to make a long journey along winding mountain roads to Marmolada. It also melts quickly.
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The world’s best skiers train on glaciers because of the high-quality snow there, and a warming world is putting the sport’s future in jeopardy. Vonn started skiing on glaciers in Austria when she was just 9 years old.
“Most of the glaciers I used to ski on are almost gone,” Vonn, 41, said in response to a question from The Associated Press at her pre-race press conference in Cortina on Feb. 3. Crashed on Olympic downhill course. “So this is very real and very clear to us.”
As snow sports athletes, Shiffrin said, they can “literally have a front-row view” of the monumental changes occurring atop some of the world’s highest and coldest peaks.
“This is something that’s very close to our hearts, because it’s the heart and soul of what we do,” Shiffrin told the AP after the race Sunday. he said. “I really believe and hope that with strong voices within companies and governments and wider policy changes, there is hope for the future of our sport. But I think at the moment it’s a bit…it’s a question.”
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Italy’s glaciers are disappearing
Italy has lost more than 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) of glacier area since the late 1950s, Italian glaciologist Antonella Senese said.
“We observe a continuous and uninterrupted decrease in glacier area and volume. In the last one to two decades this decrease has clearly accelerated,” Senese, an associate professor of physical geography in the department of environmental science and policy at the University of Milan, said in an interview.
The peaks surrounding Cortina d’Ampezzo include glaciers on the slopes of the Cristallo and Sorapiss mountains. 2015 New Italian Glacier Inventory found that these glaciers have shrunk by about a third since the 1959-1962 inventory.
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shortly after win second gold At her home Winter Olympics on Sunday, Brignone told the AP that skiing is “completely different” now than when she was younger. Brignone lives in Valle d’Aosta, about six hours away.
Seeing the glaciers retreating to higher altitudes, Brignone said that he did not think about the future of skiing, but was worried about the future of the planet.
“We have a lot of glaciers there, but they’re getting higher and higher every year,” he told the AP.
But many people who don’t frequent the mountains don’t realize what’s at stake; Therefore the University of Innsbruck, Farewell Glaciers Project. The loss of glaciers has far-reaching consequences; It threatens water resources, increases mountain hazards and contributes to sea level rise.
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The project shows how different levels of warming change the amount of ice remaining in selected glaciers around the world. To include glaciers, the 2020 estimated volume must be at least 0.01 cubic kilometers. Patrick Schmitt, a PhD student at the University of Innsbruck, said the Cristallo and Sorapiss glaciers no longer meet this threshold.
protection of glaciers
About 50 kilometers (31 mi) from Cortina is the Marmolada glacier, one of the largest glaciers in Italy and the largest in the Dolomites. An apartment-sized section of the glacier broke away in July 2022. Sparked debris avalanche that killed 11 hikers. The mountain is popular for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.
University of Padua said in 2023 The glacier had halved in 25 years.
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If the world warms by 2.7 Celsius (4.9 Fahrenheit), it is expected to be largely gone by 2034, according to the Farewell Glaciers Project. However, if warming is limited to 1.5 C (2.7 F —) international destination Schmitt said the life of the glacier could be extended for another six years and about 100 glaciers in the Alps could be saved.
“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions now will reduce future ice loss and soften impacts on people and nature,” Schmitt wrote in an email. “The choices we make this decade will determine how much ice remains in the Dolomites, the Alps and around the world.”
More than 7 trillion tons (6.5 trillion metric tons) of ice have been lost globally since 2000. According to a study conducted last year. And the potential impact of climate change on Olympic sports is huge; list Venues that can host the Winter Games are expected to shrink significantly in the coming years.
It’s not just Vonn, Shiffrin, and Brignone; Many Olympic skiers are also worried
Noa Szollos, who competed for Israel in Cortina, said in an interview that the condition of nearby glaciers was indicative of the condition of glaciers worldwide.
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“I hope we can do something about it,” he said, “but it’s a difficult time.”
Finland’s Silja Koskinen said in an interview that she was unable to train on some glaciers, which she used to do, due to crevasses, rocks and flowing water. USA team skier AJ Hurt said that he will start the season on the glaciers in Sölden, Austria, in October.
“Every year we come and it feels like there’s a little less snow. And each time we say, ‘Are we really going to start in October? There’s no snow here,'” Hurt told the AP. “It’s really sad and it’s definitely hard to ignore it when we’re so around this sport and it’s so open.”
Norwegian skier Nikolai Schirmer is leading efforts to prevent fossil fuel companies from sponsoring winter sports. Burning coal, oil and natural gas biggest contributor to global climate change until now.
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In Bormio, Italy, Team USA skier River Radamus said athletes — as guardians of outdoor winter sports — should be at the forefront of trying to defend the environment as best they can.
“We always have the thought that unless we do something right, we are in a dangerous trend,” Radamus said.
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed from Bormio, Italy.
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AP Winter Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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