by lil

"Because of global warming, the ice sheet and glaciers are fast melting and the dead bodies that remained buried all these years are now becoming exposed," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association.

I realize this is not news as the ice sheets have been melting for a while. Still, it's an interesting trail to climb up. (I wanted to use the "rabbit hole" metaphor, but it didn't sound right.) Wikipedia has a list of 297 climbers who died on Mount Everest alone. Many more have died on the other 8000+ feet high Himalyan mountains. Many want to be left there in the ice surrounded by snow. Intact. But what if the ice melted?

I'd ask hubski where they wanted to leave their bodies - but spring is coming and time to watch hopefully for cardinals and robins.

Why the melting Everest caught my attention today is that I frequently remind myself that the polar icecaps are melting. In other words, let's focus on what is really important. I have not thought much about the ice sheets and glaciers of the Himalayas that are also melting.

This led me to wonder about Mount Baker visible from Vancouver and to discover this

Photos and maps from a large collection dating back to 1909 document exactly what Mt. Baker glaciers have done in the past. What these photos and maps clearly show is the Mt. Baker glaciers reached their maximum extent of the past century in 1915 at the end of the 1880 to 1915 cold period. The glaciers then melted back strongly during the 1915 to 1950 warm period. The climate then turned cool again, and Mt. Baker glaciers advanced strongly for 30 years. In 1977, the climate turned warm again and since about 1980, glaciers have been retreating again. However, photos and maps prove that all Mt. Baker glaciers are more extensive today than they were in 1950.

oh.