They creak and groan, and crackle and rumble. And sometimes they roar.
These days glaciers have lots to complain about. But are we listening?
American climber Ed Viesturs developed a survival strategy he calls 'listen to the mountain'. Before setting off on a dangerous climb to the summit, he sits and meditates, and takes time to listen to the mountain—to figure out if the mountain sounds welcoming or dangerous, to determine if it is about to unleash avalanches or not. For Viesturs the climber, listening to the mountain is a matter of life and death. And for millions of South Asians, reading the glaciers may be a matter of urgent survival. Here's why:
This NASA image shows glacial meltdown in Bhutan from a satellite perspective. As glaciers melt, they form glacial lakes that swell in size. If a glacial lake bursts, it can cause flash floods that can sweep away roads, bridges, and entire villages. This has happened more than 30 times in the last 70 years in Nepal. There are around 3,300 glaciers in Nepal: roughly two-thirds of them contain glacial lakes. Similar problems exist in Bhutan.
Bhutan has identified scores of sites for potential GLOFs (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods) within its borders, of which 25 are at extremely high risk of bursting. These GLOFs exist within Tibet: at the time of the Sichuan earthquake, video footage emerged of the PLA troops dynamiting the walls of glacial lakes before they could become bigger.