The Grotte de Glace in France: A vanishing attraction
Every year, many tourists are drawn to the Mer de Glace in Chamonix, France, especially its famous Ice Cave. But now the glacier is receding, this attraction is at risk of disappearing.
Vanishing ice
The Mer de Glace, or Sea of Ice, is the largest glacier in France and the fourth largest in the Alps. At the foot of Mont Blanc is the popular ski resort of Chamonix, from which tourists can set out for a very special tourist attraction: a human-made ice cave, the "Grotte de Glace."
Splash of color in gray landscape
The old, bright-red cog railroad, the "Train du Montenvers," ponderously does the 900-meter (2,900-foot) climb from Chamonix to Montenvers. At the beginning of the 19th century, there was already a natural glacier cave that was considered a tourist magnet even then. However, this disappeared due to the retreat of the glaciers, and so the first artificial cave was hewn in 1863.
Good on foot
Tourists move down the nearly 500 steps to the entrance of the Ice Cave. In just over a century, the Mer de Glace has lost over a quarter of its diameter and retreated by about two kilometers (1.3 miles) — a result of global warming visible to the naked eye. Every year, new steps have to be added.
Lunar landscape instead of snow and ice
Visitors on the footbridges attached to the rock. The Ice Cave can be reached either by a short hiking trail or a cable car. But if you imagine a sea of ice and snow at the Mer de Glace, you will be disappointed. The sun is burning and you can hear water dripping everywhere from the constant melting process. In many places, where once everything was full of ice, only barren rock can now be seen.
Blue grotto
View into the blue tunnel of the ice cave. Because of the advancing glacier melt, the grotto has to be completely renewed in summer because the glacier moves by 70 meters (230 feet) every year. Researchers have calculated that by the year 2100, only about 5% of the ice at high altitudes in the Alps is likely to remain.
Flashback in ice
Inside the Ice Cave, visitors are treated to breathtaking light and sound effects. But they can also admire pictures showing the life of mountain dwellers at the beginning of the 19th century.
Icy art
Tourists sit on thrones made of ice. Artful ice sculptures can also found here, as the "Grotte de Glace" is also the only glacier museum in France. The sculptures and seating are created with unusual tools, including saws, irons and curling irons.
Saying goodbye to the glacier
Tourists look down into the valley from the gangway in front of the entrance to the cave. Scientists fear that the glaciers can no longer be saved and could disappear completely in the future. This will also further fuel global warming, as there are fewer and fewer white ice surfaces that can reflect sunlight. The future at the Mer de Glace will likely be rocky, gray — and perhaps hot as well.