74-Year-Old Photographs Reveal a Distressing Collapse of Mount Rainier’s Ice Due To Climate Change

68 miles southeast of Seattle, Mount Rainier stands proudly at a towering height of 14,410 feet, its volcanic flanks blanketed by ashy rubble, its rounded green slopes smoothed out by slippery glacier ice. For the past 100 years, maybe more, Rainier has boasted the status of being the tallest peak in all entire Washington. In the last decade, however, this colossal guardian of the Pacific Northwest has lost crumbs of snow off its top. All that remains of it now is a looming shadow of naked rock, which grieves the loss of ice, blaming humans for climate change. Researchers analyzed photographs dating back over seven decades to reveal this grim news, as documented in the journal Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research (AAAR).

For the past century, Rainier’s swag has not just been limited to its headwaters that feed five major rivers, but also its silent forests, its bubbling glaciers that produce electricity while cradling little fish, and its tranquil snowfields that become painted in crimson blush as the Sun bids farewell in the evenings. Its flower-strewn alpine meadows tell the forgotten tales of the past when hunters hiked on its trails with their mountain goats to gather huckleberries and cedarwood to weave crafty baskets.

Known as a powerful stratovolcano, Rainier showed no signs of its collapse, remaining dormant for most of these years. Only lately, when researchers pored over its archive of photographs taken over different points in time, were they able to discover the fact. They call this discovery “pretty shocking,” not only because the mountain could soon die, but also because it is now becoming a dangerous zone for the millions of visitors who climb its slopes and hike along its trails each year, per NPS.

The secret collapse of the rumpled mountain came to attention thanks to the efforts of Scott Hotaling and Eric Gilbertson. Their initial objective was to understand how the tallest peaks in the Western United States are changing. "They're actually changing a lot since then," Gilbertson said, according to National Parks Traveler. "I wanted to figure out exactly how they're changing." Towing along over 30 pounds of scientific gear, combing 18 miles across the mountains’ rough terrains, ladder crossings, and ice crevasses, the team set forth to decipher the subconscious processes going on behind the mountains’ changing appearances, especially height.

Five locations across the State, they noticed, had maintained frozen peaks, but since the mid-20th century, Rainier’s highest point had dropped by more than 20 feet. The ragged, dinosaur-sized rock cake seemed to be losing its surface butterfat, entering a state of geological depression. Rainier was going through a quiet suffering, and seeing the trajectory global warming was taking, there was no hope left.

The team analyzed a cache of historical photographs to track the changes. Columbia Crest, once the mountain’s official summit, no longer holds that title. Eldorado’s historic icecap summit has also melted by 20 ft since 1950. One reason for the dramatic decline in ice is changing air temperatures, researchers note in the university press release. Rising temperatures fuel more precipitation, and more rain releases more heat, which accelerates the melting loop, which gradually strips away the mountain of its cold defense barrier of ice. It’s not just a matter of losing the precious mount, it’s also a matter of people’s safety.

As temperatures rise, climbers can easily get disoriented and end up slipping into crevasses. But when all is said and done, the sad news remains that Rainier continues to die a little more each passing day. Scientists don’t yet know whether they can do anything to heal its ailing peaks, but if there’s anything that humans can do is to take it as a lesson and actively work on managing the environment better, so other mountains don’t have to grapple with the climate crisis.

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