The Alps 2021: the final expedition of the “On the Trail of the Glaciers” documentary project

A picture is worth a thousand words – especially in an age dominated by social media, where visual communication plays a defining role. It was with this in mind that the scientific photographic project “On the Trail of the Glaciers” has been conducted over the last 11 years. The project, which was supported by Enel Green Power, has compiled the largest global archive of photographic comparisons of the Earth’s mountain glaciers. The final stage was a summer expedition to the Alpine ranges in France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia that concluded in August of this year, following on from expeditions in 2019 and 2020 in the Italian Alps. “On the Trail of the Glaciers” was created in 2009 from an idea by photographer Fabiano Ventura, with the goal of documenting the gradual erosion of the glaciers resulting from climate change. Since its inception, the project has combined photography, scientific research and field surveys, making it possible to monitor the variations in glacier mass over the last 170 years. To do this, archive photographs were recovered, some of which date back to before 1850, and new images were shot during the three expeditions between 2019 and this year, in such a way as to compare the situation today with how it once was. On the expedition that has just been completed, Ventura and his team began from the Massif des Écrins in the southwestern Alps, visiting the Glacier Blanc and Glacier Noir before moving towards Chamonix, the heart of the Mont Blanc massif in France, and then continuing on to Switzerland. The comparisons with archive photographs laid bare the profound changes in the landscape, largely due to the effects of global warming. Contributing to the drastic changes in the landscape was the tourist redevelopment of numerous sites, a transition that, generally speaking, has not helped preserve the mountain environment. Having completed the studies in the field, now begins perhaps the most important phase: sharing the results obtained, both within the scientific community and, above all, with the general public. The goal is very clear: to harness the power of these images to raise awareness throughout society about the climate crisis. “This final mission concludes the phase in the field, which has involved more than 10 years of challenges, but also huge satisfaction,” stressed Fabiano Ventura. “Now we are already working on the second phase, of communicating all of the results through exhibition tours, publishing and educational projects, documentaries and conferences. Nowadays, much is being said about the environment and the climate, but words, unfortunately, do not always manage to cut through to people’s consciences. Photographs, though – in particular, photographic comparisons – can open a window of awareness that words can’t.” In addition to the support of Enel Green Power, the project has also involved numerous scientific and research organizations, including the University of Milan, the Politecnico di Torino, the Italian Glaciological Committee and the Lombardy Glaciological Service. This year’s mission also involved partnerships with various foreign research organizations, such as the Université Savoie Mont Blanc, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in Munich and the World Glacier Monitoring Service.

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The Alps 2021: the final expedition of the “On the Trail of the Glaciers” documentary project

The Alps 2021: the final expedition of the “On the Trail of the Glaciers” documentary project

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