REPORTING. Climate: in Planpincieux, the glacier which threatens to collapse on the village is neither hot nor fr – franceinfo

“The glacier does not scare us. It is part of the risks of the mountain.” Not far from the Italian entrance to the Mont-Blanc tunnel, an entire valley now lives to the rhythm of alerts linked to the Planpincieux glacier. Laura Bonora in her sixties, she has lived in the hamlet with her husband for many years. The last alert dates back to August 7: the road was cut for a few hours, for fear of landslides from the glacier. A scenario far from unrealistic since in October 2020 already, a block of ice of 15,000 m3 came off a serac located above the Planpincieux glacier.

Laura is adamant, “There have always been glaciers in the mountains, that has never prevented us from living serenely here!” A far from isolated view, in this thirteen kilometer long valley, side to Mont Blanc. Here, only about ten Valdôtains live all year round. When the warm weather arrives, the population is divided between summer residents and passing tourists.

And the alerts tend to annoy the inhabitants as well as the traders of the hamlet. Marco Belfrond has spent his entire life in the Val Ferret. He lives a few kilometers away in Courmayeur, on which Planpincieux depends, and runs the Miravalle hotel in the center of the village. Leaning on the reception desk of his establishment, he details: “Last year, we were evacuated, and ten days ago there were road access restrictions. It’s ridiculous! Close the road for five hours? what it means ?”

the fifties finds it difficult to understand the decisions of the authorities, especially since, in his opinion, “It is normal for the glacier to gradually break apart and for there to be landslides”. “Before the glacier falls and gets here … Considering how far there is to go, I believe that will never happen”, he blurted out. And to conclude: “It’s not as dangerous as they want to make it think”.

A little higher up, the Lo Brenlo bar is housed in a modest stone and wood house, characteristic of the architecture of the region. While tourists enjoy the rays of the sun, seated in the deckchairs in the adjoining garden, Nicole Passino says that the establishment has been in her family for 35 years. She has lived in an apartment below the bar for four years, except when the threat of avalanches is too great, “in that case, I know I have to get off at Courmayeur”, explains the young woman, between two additions. Visible just above the bar, the glacier does not worry him.

“It doesn’t scare me at all. We’re used to living in the mountains, we know that landslides sometimes happen.”

Nicole Passino, resident of Planpincieux

to franceinfo

A discourse that contrasts with that of the Montagne Sure foundation, created in June 2002 at the initiative of the Aosta Valley region and the town hall of Courmayeur. In particular, she is responsible for monitoring glaciers and mountain safety in the Alps. Their main office is perched on the heights of Courmayeur, with a breathtaking view over the valley.

Here, four glaciologists monitor nearly 200 glaciers in the region, including using radars and thermal cameras that are always on. Fabrizio Troilo has been working there since 2016. According to him, “if there is only one glacier among those under monitoring that has to be detached, it will probably be the Planpincieux, and that can happen in the medium term”. Perched at an altitude of 3,100 m, the glacier is temperate: unlike polar glaciers still frozen to the rock, temperate glaciers are subject to temperature variations. In summer, the Planpincieux glacier rests on a layer of water, on which it can slide.

Without being alarmist, the expert explains that all the parameters agree with tragedies that have occurred in the past, as in August 1965 with the collapse of part of the Allalin glacier in Switzerland.

“The slope of the glacier, the amount of water flowing, the appearance of active phases, the fracture of certain sectors of the glacier … All the signs are there. So we have to take action.”

Fabrizio Troilo, glaciologist

to franceinfo

Currently, it is the destabilization of the right part of the glacier that concerns glaciologists. “The worst-case scenario is that one million cubic meters will spill out of the glacier. But we have never had an alert to this effect., describes Fabrizio Troilo. For the moment, the greatest destabilization that we have known was in August 2020, it concerned 500,000 m3. But the situation was limited, and very monitored. “ In 2017, a flow of 60,000 m3 took place, without reaching the village.

In summer, the most active period of the glaciers, the foundation publishes a daily bulletin on the state of that of Planpincieux. From this document, Courmayeur town hall and Civil Protection decide on the measures to be taken. It is one of these reports which caused the evacuations in August 2020. This time, the authorities had even taken additional precautions compared to the recommendations of the scientists, by widening the evacuation perimeter.

Roberto Rota has been the mayor of Courmayeur since November 2020, he knows perfectly well the wishes of the inhabitants of Planpincieux. “Many will say: ‘The glacier never fell’. So they do not live with this problem. It is true that the glaciers have always moved, butbefore there were no studies on it, exhibits this original Valdôtain. It is also quite difficult for someone who does not study glaciers to realize the problem. ” Ultimately due to climate change, and like many glaciers in the Alps, the Planpincieux glaciers could disappear. Corn “Great landslides could occur for a period of ten to fifty years before it disappears. That is why we are watching it.”, says Fabrizio Troilo.

The population remains closed to the recommendations of the authorities, considering that the risks of the glacier are no different from the usual dangers of the mountain. “Every day for years, small pieces of the glacier have been falling. Since I’ve been here, it’s been like this”, argues Caramello Franco, bike rental company installed in Planpincieux since 1986. According to him, if the authorities are concerned about the glacier, it is not really for the threat, but rather “because they do not want to take risks, they trigger the alert to take their responsibility away”. THE’80-year-old Italian believes that alerts are just “fake news” : “I have lived in the valley for a long time, I was a ski instructor and aspiring mountain guide, I think I have some mountain experience, he believes. This is all a joke. “

Ludovico Colombati is the highest inhabitant of Planpincieux, the last rampart of the glacier. Not enough to scare him. To reach your house, you have to meander for a long time on the winding roads that lead to the hamlet, then go deep into the forest. After a few minutes, his refuge takes shape: a large building from the 1930s whose carpenter is none other than his grandfather.

He has lived there for thirty years, his two daughters were born there. “In winter, the snow is so abundant that it comes to the balcony level, so we live on the first floor”, he explains, walking around the house. In this season, Planpincieux then becomes the terminus of Val Ferret, snow covering the rest of the road. Only the path leading to Ludovico’s house is cleared. In his garden, we guess the glacier between the trees, and we hear the torrent flowing from the glacier, a few meters away. “It is true that it is very spectacular seen from here: if it detaches itself, it seems inevitable that the glacier arrives here immediately. But the glacier moves very slowly, I know it perfectly”, he assures.

The sixty-year-old got into the habit of checking the glacier every day, visibly. “When iThere is not much water left in the torrent, there is a risk of an interior dyke. If it breaks, it’s dangerous. But the triggering of the serac is nothing, it makes noise, but it is quite common. By ear, I immediately realize if there is a problem. “ Ludovico relies on his mountain experience. Like the other residents of Planpincieux, he has always lived in the valley.

“There is no zero risk, whether you live in the city or in the mountains. It is not easy to live here, there are many problems to be solved, but the glacier is a minimal risk.”

Ludovico Colombati, inhabitant of Planpincieux

to franceinfo

Like Caramello Franco, he considers that the authorities are zealous, for fear of criminal repercussions in the event of an accident. Instead of evacuations and road closures, he favors pedagogy: “You have to tell tourists: ‘You are in the mountains, pay attention to your surroundings, watch where you are going, rock falls can happen, etc.'”

As for the reasons for the melting of the glacier, which he estimates has lost half of its mass since he settled in the village, Ludovico is divided. “Experts say it is due to pollution, but looking at the history of the area, you can see that it was even melting before all of this., he explains. I think climate change is one of the reasons for the melting, but it’s minimal. What is certain is that warming mountains entail new risks. ” Like landslides, more and more frequent avalanches and more intense floods of alpine rivers.