A picture that makes me sad
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238268)
Walnut Creek, California
October 1, 2018 12:56pm CST
I worked in Glacier National Park for several Summers. One year, I was a dishwasher at Many Glacier Hotel, and after that I was a "wrangler," taking people out horseback riding. This all occurred in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s.
On my days off, I would hike or climb. One of my favorite hikes was to Grinnell Glacier, a regal blue glacier with deep and scary crevasses, and beautiful mountains all around. One of my favorite climbs was Mt. Gould, a 9500 ft peak with incredible views of the Park.
As it happens, Mt. Gould is directly above Grinnell Glacier, and (if you don't have vertigo), you can photograph Grinnell Glacier from the peak. The photo I have attached is Grinnell Glacier from Mt. Gould. It was taken in 2009. I did not take it. But I have taken the same photo, in the 1980s, with my Olympus OM-1.
The Grinnell Glacier I photographed was a huge blue mass of ice, impressive even from above. The Grinnell Glacier that remains is the small grey mass of ice to the lower left in the photo, surrounded by a blue lake dotted with melting icebergs.
Interestingly, some glaciers in Glacier National Park have not lost that much of their mass over the past 30 years, while others are slowly disappearing. My favorite, Grinnell Glacier, will probably experience its ultimate demise before I do.
14 people like this
12 responses
@LadyDuck (502156)
• Italy
2 Oct 18
@TheHorse Of course humans are the cause of climate change. Do you know that knocking out the trees in the cities caused the temperature to rise 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 F)? If you add to this that A/C has been installed in most apartments another 35.6 F to add, all this heat affect the climate. Not to mention the deforestation to produce that ridiculous palm oil, cheap (very cheap) that all the food industries are using pretending that it is not dangerous. The politicians are closing their eyes and allowing all this, they are the main responsible... what humans would not do for money!
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
2 Oct 18
I keep on telling everyone that Global Climate change is already taking its toll, and it will impact each nation on this planet. We still have some time to amend things, or else we all face doom sooner than later.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
3 Oct 18
@TheHorse no vehicles use on certain days.
Heavily promote and subsidize Electric vehicles.
@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
2 Oct 18
@JudyEv glaciers in many Asian countries, and Himalayas too are receding at an alarming pace.
And some suggest that the landmass of the Arctic circle could disappear totally one day.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Oct 18
I was in Glacier last month and most of the park was shut down due to wildfire.
3 people like this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Oct 18
How beautiful - what is creating that "blue"? It's such a shame that the ice is melting on this planet - I suppose some faster/slower than others depending on their individual environmental circumstances. To think what this glacier could look like 5-10 years from now.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (52907)
• Mojave, California
1 Oct 18
That is neat and sad at the same time. Your story is neat, sad that physics is at work? Is that the right term, I tried to sound all smart.
2 people like this
@crossbones27 (52907)
• Mojave, California
1 Oct 18
@TheHorse Indeed, nerd rights though. 
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
1 Oct 18
It is a lovely shot, but so sad that it has shrank that much.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
1 Oct 18
@TheHorse I like that first one the best
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Oct 18
@wolfgirl569 Yep. I bet there were a lot of glaciers in Glacier National Park back then.
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
1 Oct 18
That is certainly a very sad picture, but it is one that could be taken in many parts of the world where glaciers are melting due to climate change. One very serious consequence of this is that summer meltwater from glaciers often provides water supply for communities a long way from the mountains, with the glaciers being re-supplied by snowfall during the winter. The lack of snowfall is causing huge problems in places like California, which relies on meltwater and has seen terrible wildfires due to the general dryness.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
2 Oct 18
@indexer saw your here after a very long time!
Yes the glaciers melting could have a disastrous impact on the water supply in many parts of the world.
A link sharing a worrying story :
146 glaciers in Chandra basin lost one-fifth of the estimated volume of water since 1984.
1 person likes this
