he summer season was just getting into the swing in the mountain towns based around the Marmolada, the highest peak in the Italian Dolomites, when a huge mass of ice from a glacier on its north side snapped off last Sunday afternoon,Hotels, restaurants and mountain refuges were packed, and trails busy with hikers, climbers and cyclists, many flocking to the mountains in search of slightly fresher temperatures during Italy’s intense heatwave.
“The primary reason is safety – for those doing the rescue operation at the site of the disaster, and to prevent people getting near the site,” said Dimitri Demarchi, the deputy mayor of Canazei, the main resort town in the area. “We also need time to understand what the situation is like on the glacier – there are two suspended seracs on the piece that fell which are being continuously monitored.
Some experts point to the example of Courmayeur, the town in the Aosta Valley close to Planpincieux, a hanging glacier on the southern slopes of the Grandes Jorasses in the Mont Blanc range of the Alps.
The retreat of glaciers inevitably has an impact on tourism and mountain sports. The only glacier in Italy where it is still possible to ski during the summer is Livrio in the Stelvio national park.