Ghostlike Chacaltaya Lodge Photo: wikipedia.org
It’s a sad day when the world’s highest lift accessed skiing is forced to shut down due to premature glacial melting. Chacaltaya, a peak located in Bolivia about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from La Paz, stands at an impressive 5,395 meters (17,785 feet) and offered the worlds tallest turns. The resort prided itself as being the first in many regards, just check out the facts:
Chacaltaya Shakedown:
- First rope tow in South America (first installed in 1939 using a car engine)
- Tallest Lift Accessed terrain in the world (an impressive 17,785 foot peak)
- Closest resort in the WORLD to the equator (16° Latitude)
- Farthest ski area to the North in South America
- Held title as only South American resort outside of Argentina and Chile
The 18,000 year old glacier began it’s meltdown in the mid-1980′s and was predicted to vanish completely by 2015. It has since dissolved a full 6 years before it’s estimated disappearance. Only on banner years is Chacaltaya able to open, and even on the biggest of years they are only able to open a meager 600 foot stretch of snow (think Boreal in October).
Chacaltaya is a popular destination for aspiring “mountaineers” as you can literally drive almost the entire way to the summit (a very narrow, highly dangerous single lane road weaves it’s way up the peak and stops a mere 660 feet from the top) . Talk about an easy 17k (almost 18) foot peak to bag. Hop in your supped-up Range Rover or your horse drawn cart (depending on you style), rally to the top, and a quick stroll of less than 1000 vert places you on top. Now that’s my kinda mountaineering!
Seriously human beings of the world, what are we going to do? Push for change in the way we lead our lives? Or continue to let resorts close prematurely with diminishing winters and a diminishing ozone layer due to our fossil fuel fetish?
Global Warming and it’s impact on skiers:
Global warming doesn’t exist, remember!? This woulda been a helluvan adventure and quite the conversation piece. “Oh, yeah, and that one time that I skied the highest, nearest to the equator ski resort, yeah, that was okay, I guess, no big deal, tho.”
Thanks for covering this climate change stuff. Keep up the good work!
Say Climate Change homie….
It’s time for those who care to take a more active role in changing the establishment. Obviously peaceful protests and political means will not work and have not worked so in my mind it’s time to resort to more desperate measures. The only time great changes have been brought about in history is through revolutions of the people. Could it be that the sabotaging or destruction of oil refineries, super highways, and coal power plants is necessary how else can we bring about the change that is needed in time? Does anyone else believe we should not just sit back and watch our planet be wantonly destroyed
Yes, great idea Jonno, lets blow shit up, that crazy liberal fringe crap always works! whata moron.
Let’s not use the word Global Warming. It hurts my ears. I prefer Global Climate Fluctuations. It’s a fairly well known fact that the earth has seen many ice ages and ice free periods. I might not be that old, but I do know that at one point in time, (I think early 80′s), that scientists were afraid of GLOBAL COOLING! Their plan? Spreed black soot on glaciers and ice caps. Why are people so scared of this? Every year there is something new. SARS, West Nile Virus, H1N1, Swine Flu. Our scientists wish they knew everything but they don’t, our climate records have only been taken for a millisecond of the age of the earth so how can we know that this isn’t a natural fluctuation?
I agree, it seems like something new comes every year made to SCARE people (and make money). On the other hand, climate change has never happened at the current pace before and we can scientifically see the human impact on global climate, weather, and temperature. Why not try to lessen our impact on earth, whether we stop climate change or not?
Our planet is supposed to be in a decline in temperature. Yes our planet fluctuates in temperature, but based on past climate models (from oxygen isotope examination) our planet is supposed to be cooling down (take the little ice age in ~1800 for example). Instead our planet is heating up due to the increased release of carbon dioxide. Anyone who thinks this is “political” BS really needs to do their research into this topic before drawing their conclusion. This isn’t going to just go away, people in the future are going to look back on our generation and wonder what the fuck we were thinking when we were burning through fossil fuels and expecting nothing to happen.
While I believe that we must take better care of the planet and be more environmentally responsible, it is true that in the lifecycle of the planet the earth has been through many “hot” and “cold” periods. The earth, just like a person, is a living organism with different cycles in life. The human race may be accelerating some warming trend, but our planet will eventually equalize the imbalance. These are processes that take millions of years, and by the time it does, us humans will have already found out a way to kill off our species.
That said, I’m going for a rub n tug.
seen from space, the earth is contained within its atmosphere, gravity holding it all together in a sphere. it’s a closed system and it’s filling with a different composition of elements. as Niel Young said: “be the rain”
> earth is contained within its atmosphere
> closed system
looooooooooooooooooooool
do you like that it isn’t -9001 degrees outside every day?
to that you can thank earth for existing in an open system
Wow, I didn’t even know that ski area existed. Pretty incredible that a nearly 18,000 foot peak can’t maintain enough snow to ski anymore, sad day. Great article.
Its just such a small sample size to conclude that humans are the reason for this type of melting. Didn’t the Sierras and the northwest have record winters? Who knows what makes the world tick. Its more about political bullcrap then science at this point. And I feel like the reason we are ski bums is because we are above such political BS. Can’t we just ski the fluffy pow and not be drawn into these violent arguments?
You Sir, deserve a Peace Prize, not the scientists. Let’s all ski the pow in in peace.
thank you
the sierras actually had an absolutely terrible winter…so…not quite just political bullcrap anymore…
http://tahoeweatherdiscussion.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Snowfall-Graph.jpg
Stop the presses! Global Warming came some winters OVER 100 YEARS AGO!!
tahoe and glaciers in bolivia are entirely different
No shit, Sherlock. That wasn’t my point.
white people
Unofficial, I dont need you to to try to save the world, god knows, you continue to post stupid ass articles by quasi scientists and agenda driven liberal hippies. Tell me about skiing!
ratherride, I don’t need you to change my favorite snow-centric website, god knows, I want to continue to slide on snow at high speeds and would appreciate if you would stop listening to politicians and news networks as the end-all-be-all of knowledge. Tell me how to continue skiing for the nest 50 years!!
Step 1: Acquire Ski Equipment
Step 2: Locate Snow
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Ski
stop watching glen beck and do some research for yourself ya nincompoop
I think it’s important for us to keep in mind how much our passion is influenced by the change of climates. While certain areas had record breaking snowfall this year, other areas weren’t half as lucky. While it is very true that our planet does fluctuate between periods of ice and periods of no ice as it was stated above. The issue is how this slow occurring process has definitely sped up since we started burning fossil fuels. And it continues to accelerate as we continue to burn more. So while burning down oil barges where honest people are trying to make a living for their families is obviously not the appropriate approach. We do live in democracy (for the most part) and it does work if you focus your needs in the right direction.
This place has been closed for 3 YEARS – not exactly “breaking news”
this place shut 3 years ago, sad day in 09
You have no clue what you are talking about. Ozone layer? What? You are seriously misinformed and beligerent. What evidence do you have that is resort closed due to “global warming?” Where is your data? Please provide facts to back up your claim. What other resorts have closed due to “global warming?” Please, we need to see your data. Otherwise you are just another clueless activist with no facts or data to back up your wild claims that somehow we evil humans are killing mother gaia. I guess “global warming” is why it’s still snowing on Mt. Baker, Washington right now and why Alyeska, Alaska had record snowfall this past winter, and why the Breckenridge Ski Area had record snowfall two winter ago and why I had so many powder days at Wolf Creek this winter, and why Alpental in Washington State, with its very low base level, had a monster snow year. It’s cycles bro – wake up out of your brainwashed trance. This has nothing whatsoever to do with “global warming.” Idiots.
Global warming is simply a misnomer. It is more accurately global climate change, leading to irregular storm patterns and abnormal climates.
And to be fair…even if we were ultimately unable to prove global climate change as it is related to human activity…is there any reason not to treat the natural planet, fellow citizens, and future generations with the respect required to maintain our beautiful planet? Whether or not pollution is changing our climate, it is changing our health and that of entire ecosystems. Weren’t we all taught as children to take care of and appreciate the gifts we are given?
The system wants you afraid so you are complacent, dependent, and consuming. We’re trying to polish the brass on the titanic. It’s all going down, man.
I love the quote “Premature glacial melting.” Now what eqactly does that imply?
Also, the grammar in this, along with most other Unofficial posts, is atrocious.
I’m not getting into the Global Warming debate. But I do have a problem every time extreme weather occurs and people automatically attribute it to global warming or the lack thereof. I’ll bet a few people up in Alaska this winter were saying, “global warming? can we get some of that”. It’s ridiculous.
I generally agree with your extreme weather comment but I do think that it is becoming climate if the glacier has been melting consistintly for the last ~25 years.