US skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin and Italy’s Federica Brignone are among athletes who have expressed concern on the issue during the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
Cortina itself has seen its surrounding glaciers shrink or disappear completely.
There are glaciers on the slopes of the Cristallo and Sorapiss mountains.
The 2015 New Italian Glacier Inventory found these glaciers shrunk by about one-third since the 1959-1962 inventory
The nearest major glacier from Cortina is Marmolada – it’s melting rapidly.
In 2022 part of it collapsed killing 11 people who were summer hiking below.
Marmolada ice collapse. Image c/o Alpine rescue services.
Scientist predict the whole of the Marmolada glacier could disappear by 2040.
The predictions were made two years ago as we reported at the time:
“Most of the glaciers that I used to ski on are pretty much gone,” said Lindsey Vonn before a crash ended her participation in the 2026 Games.
“So that’s very real and it’s very apparent to us.”
Mikaela Shiffrin said, they “get a real front-row view” to the monumental changes underway atop some of the world’s highest, coldest peaks.
“It is something that’s very close to our heart, because it is the heart and soul of what we do,” Shiffrin told the AP News Agency.
“I would really, really like to believe and hope that with strong voices and broader policy changes within companies and governments, there is a hope for a future of our sport. But I think right now, it’s a little bit of a question.”
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