Alpinists at 4,500m on the Arête des Bosses, part of the popular Goûter route to the top of Mont Blanc, at dawn.
Photographer: Ben Tibbetts
Weather & Science
The Golden Era of European Mountaineering Is Coming to an End
Extreme heat driven by climate change is making the French Alps too dangerous to climb during the summer.
The French village of Chamonix has been the thriving center of European mountaineering for more than three centuries. But climate change is upending the once-reliable seasons that underpin the region’s important tourism industry.
The Alps have warmed by about 0.5°C each decade since the 1980s, according to the Research Centre for Alpine Ecosystems. That’s made some of the most used routes more dangerous — and at times unclimbable — as rockfall increases and glaciers melt.