By Lynn Martel
When it comes
to climate change in the high alpine, mountain climbers are in the position to
experience the phenomenon of melting glaciers first hand.
With that
unique perspective comes a unique responsibility, says Mike Mortimer, Alpine
Club of Canada director of external relations.
In conjunction
with the ACC’s 2006 Centennial celebrations, the club is hosting Canada’s first
ever workshop on climate change focussed specifically on mountain regions.
Running Oct.
10 and 11 in Banff, the two-day workshop, titled
Climate
Change and its Affect on the Alpine, will examine
the physical and
recreational impacts of climate change in alpine environments worldwide, and
seek out ways in which the international mountaineering community might respond
to these changes.
The
workshop is planned as one component of the general assembly of the
International Mountaineering and
Climbing Federation (UIAA), happening in Banff Oct. 14. With 89 members, from
Andorra to Chile, Israel to Malaysia, the Netherlands and the 700,000 strong
German mountaineering association, 80 to 100 international delegates are
expected to attend, including the presidents of at least 70 mountaineering
organizations.
Taking place
at the Banff Centre, workshop sessions include such topics as Climate Change
Impacts on the World’s Mountains from a Global Perspective, the Implications of
Global Change for Canadian Mountains, and the Role of the UIAA and its Member
Organizations in Addressing Climate Change Impacts on Mountain Regions
Globally.
Speakers
include Dr. Shawn Marshall, University of Calgary Associate Professor in
glaciology and climatology — whose presentation will include a field trip
to Bow Lake and the Columbia Icefield — and Dr. David Sauchyn, chief
scientist at the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative at the University of
Regina, and member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change.
As
well, Dr. Henry Vaux, whose family launched the study of glaciers in the
Selkirk Mountain of B.C.’s Glacier National Park over a century ago, will
present an evening slide show.
As the UIAA’s
first general assembly to include discussions on climate change, in addition to
facilitating discussion and establishing protocols for minimizing human impact
in mountain regions worldwide, Mortimer said he hoped the workshop would also
serve to raise awareness among the general and mountaineering public.
“We of all
people should be more aware, we see the glaciers diminishing right before our
eyes,” Mortimer said. “The ACC has always relied on glaciers. If we lost all
the ice on the Wapta, for instance, that would totally change everything we do.
Changes in glaciation might make (climbing) approaches really different.”
At Lake
Louise, changes to the “Deathtrap,” the historically popular route up Victoria
Glacier providing access to Abbot Pass and climbs on Mounts Lefroy and
Victoria, have already rendered the route pretty much impassable.
Montana’s
Glacier National Park, Sauchyn said, was estimated to hold 150 glaciers in
1850. That number dropped to 50 in the 1960s, and dwindled to 26 in 1998
— all mere remnants of their original Icefields.
“The same
phenomenon is happening Alberta, just at a slightly lesser rate because we
started with bigger glaciers,” Sauchyn said. “It’s the clearest evidence of
climate change. Mountains are like the canary in the coal mine — the high
altitudes and the high latitudes.”
While the
Rocky Mountains comprise a relatively small area of Alberta, it is nonetheless
a very significant area; virtually all drinking water for all the major cities
in Alberta and Saskatchewan comes from the Rockies. As well, there are
ecological and biodiversity factors to consider.
“The alpine is
a unique ecosystem with unique issues, both from a scientific and management
perspective,” Sauchyn said, adding climate change has reduced the role of the
Rockies’ glaciers to one of simply sustaining summer flow.
“We don’t get
much water from glaciers anymore, we get it from snow,” Sauchyn said.
But, he added,
winter snowfall patterns are also changing.
One thing
that’s certain, Sauchyn said, is that the debate is essentially over.
In early 2007,
the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will issue its
fourth assessment, followed by Canada’s second national assessment next spring.
The first
national assessment in a decade, and the first international one since 2001,
Sauchyn said the impact of both would be huge.
“You don’t
find any scientific articles being written today saying there is any doubt, not
just about whether climate change is happening, but also whether man has helped
cause it,” Sauchyn said. “There is complete consensus on both points. These
assessments will have profound impact because they will present that
consensus.”
As guest
speaker at the ACC workshop, Sauchyn will deliver a
Canadian Climate
Change Impact Overview.
The aim of the
workshop, however, is not to look to the cause of climate change, but to put
forward the latest information and emerging climate change adaptation
strategies as a basis for establishing a protocol for action allowing the ACC
to recognize and address climate change impacts on Canada’s mountain regions.
It is hoped that the protocol will serve as a template for alpine organizations
around the world interested in doing the same.
“The Alpine
Club of Canada is not interested in pointing a finger, we’ll leave that to
other minds,” Mortimer said. “What we want to do is find ways we can better
understand what the problem is, and how to address it. What are the best
practices we can encourage? As the largest operator of backcountry huts in
North America, how do we reduce our impact in our mountain activities.”
By sharing
experiences and information on a global scale, it is hoped workshop
participants can all discover ways to improve their current practices.
“I think
everybody has a responsibility, but as mountaineers we have the additional
challenge because we’re the ones who see it,” Mortimer said. “We recreate in
these areas, and we have a responsibility to leave the mountains in the same or
better condition than we find them.
“We want the
next generation to be able to enjoy what we’ve been able to enjoy.”
Public attendance at the workshop is welcome. For more information go to