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PHOTO ESSAY

Like a boiling frog… snow becomes a scarce treasure in a warming world

A trip through Germany in winter provided startling evidence that the world is warming up rapidly. The deep snow slopes where skiers used to revel were often dry and empty. It was still beautiful, though.
Like a boiling frog… snow becomes a scarce treasure in a warming world A farmhouse in the upper reaches of the Glottertal valley, in Germany’s Black Forest. Snow in the lower reaches of the forest is increasingly rare. (Photo: Angus Begg)
Angus Begg
By Angus Begg
19 Jul 2022
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The BBC reports that England could record its highest temperatures yet this week. The world is getting hot. Storms are increasingly violent, land masses are disappearing. “New research,” wrote University of California Davis climate scientist Francis Moore in the online ScienceAlert in 2019, “demonstrates a terrifying adaptability of 21st-century human beings: in the face of unprecedented climate change, we are normalising the weather temperatures, and not realising how truly bad things have become.”

For southern hemisphere residents skiing evokes many emotions, wonder amongst them. Less mentioned is the wonder of walking, hiking in the snow. Crisp, thick silence is interrupted only by booted feet crunching, squeaking as they break the snow’s crust. Photo:Angus Begg
Skiing evokes many emotions, including wonder. Less mentioned is the wonder of walking and hiking in the snow. (Photo: Angus Begg)

The well-known analogy for this phenomenon is the boiling frog – the notion that a frog immersed in gradually heating water will fail to notice the creeping change in its circumstances, even as it’s being boiled alive.

Vines and Lines. Elsewhere in the Black Forest, the northern side of the Glottertal valley - ‘tal' is valley in German - is striped with vineyards. They bear the snows with disciplined dignity, although today their load is light. A local resident said the area recorded 15° celsius in the first week of January.Photo:Angus Begg
The northern side of the Glottertal Valley is striped with vineyards, which handle snow well, though today their load is light. The area recorded 15°C in January. (Photo: Angus Begg)

Melting icebergs and glaciers apart, there are few more obvious ways to see and feel the effects of climate change than in a central European winter. A reported mid-winter temperature of 15°C in Germany’s Black Forest on 1 January 2022 spoke volumes. Between the Schwarzwald and the Bavarian Alps, and a little peek into Switzerland, the relative extremes are plainly visible. And ironically, sometimes stunningly beautiful. DM168

Oberstaufen is a village in one of the better-known snow sport and summer recreation areas in the German, or Bavarian Alps. On arrival in the village in mid February, any snow was restricted to dirty mounds on the pavement. That night, like a gift, it snowed, almost covering the Hochgrat, at 1,834 m the highest mountain in the western Allgäu and the most striking peak in the Nagelfluhkette nature park. But regular snow in all of the Alps, as reported in Deutsche Welle - https://www.dw.com/en/ski-resorts-cling-on-against-climate-change/a-41972961 is becoming increasingly hard to find. Photo:Angus Begg
Overnight snow in the village of Oberstaufen almost covered the Hochgrat, at 1,834m the highest mountain in the western Allgäu and the most striking peak in the Nagelfluhkette nature park. (Photo: Angus Begg)
Oberstaufen is a village in one of the better-known snow sport and summer recreation areas in the German, or Bavarian Alps. On arrival in the village in mid February, any snow was restricted to dirty mounds on the pavement. That night, like a gift, it snowed, almost covering the Hochgrat, at 1,834 m the highest mountain in the western Allgäu and the most striking peak in the Nagelfluhkette nature park. But regular snow in all of the Alps, as reported in Deutsche Welle - https://www.dw.com/en/ski-resorts-cling-on-against-climate-change/a-41972961 is becoming increasingly hard to find.Photo:Angus Begg
Regular snow is becoming increasingly hard to find throughout the Alps. (Photo: Angus Begg)
View from a farmhouse in the upper reaches of the Glottertal valley. Any traveller will find momentary happiness in the contrast of snow and gentle temperature on alternate days.Photo:Angus Begg
The same view of the Glottertal Valley as pictured above, this time with a sprinkling of white following an overnight snowfall. (Photo: Angus Begg)
In Oberstaufen village, trees and shrubs have historically been pruned in preparation for the spring and summer. Residents of the village say the snow is not close to what it once was. Photo:Angus Begg
In Oberstaufen, trees and shrubs are pruned in preparation for the spring and summer. Residents say snowfalls are not nearly as heavy as they once were. (Photo: Angus Begg)
The historic silver mine area of Schauinsland, in the Black Forest, is another popular winter and summer sport destination. The beautiful 20 minute ride in the cable-car to the summit, in late mid-winter, revealed no snow within the forest architecture.Photo:Angus Begg
Schauinsland in the Black Forest is a popular winter and summer sport destination. But a 20-minute cable-car ride to the summit in mid-winter revealed no snow. (Photo: Angus Begg)

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.

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