Climbers Take Stock

In the 2007 American Alpine Journal, the annual publication of the American Alpine Club, mountain guide Joe Stock writes about "The Front Lines of Climate Change" -- the mountains, that is, where many classic climbing routes have literally disappeared thanks to the ravages of global warming. Writes Stock:

Most Americans hear a lot about climate change, but their conversation on the subject may be spurred only by a heat wave or a balmy winter; their interest soon dies and they go on with their lives. The situation is different for those of us who play and work on glaciers. We have climate change shoved in our faces on every trip.

He challenges his cramponed comrades to share what they see: "Tell your stories. Blow up your photos. Write a story for your local paper. You don't have to be a scientist. Just tell them what you see."

But of course, climbers themselves are part of the problem, jetting around as they do on months-long expeditions and hitting the road for weekend forays. To mitigate that impact, Stock and fellow Anchorage climbers are working to incorporate offsets into the cost of flying with bush pilots into the Alaska Range. To learn more, see Climb Green.