In the far south of Switzerland, two glaciers descend the northern slopes of 3700 meter high Mont Vélan: the hardly recognizable Tseudet Glacier and the 3.5 kilometer long Glacier de Valsorey.
Glacier de Valsorey in 1983 (left) en 2020. Source: Swisstopo zeitreise.
Mont Vélan overlooks the valley of Entremont. The valley is mainly known for the Great St Bernard Pass, one of the main roads connecting Switzerland and Italy. Traffic passes the beautiful village of Bourg-Saint-Pierre and misses the jewel of Entremont: The Valsorey Glacier (French: Glacier de Valsorey). The village lies at the intersection of two valleys. Few choose to go into Valsorey valley, which leads up to the glacier.
Glacier de Valsorey lies hidden behind Mont Vélan. Only from the mountain hut Cabane de Valsorey the entire glacier can be overseen. The glacier starts at the top and descends to an altitude of 2500 meter. Between 3000 and 2700 there is a steep ice fall.
Lately the icefall has started to fall apart. Bedrock is appearing from underneath the glacier and the connection is expected to crumble over the next years. That won’t be the first time Glacier de Valsorey takes a hit. Over the course of one and a half century the glacier already lost contact with neighboring Tseudet Glavier to the west and Sonadon Glacier to the east. Around 1900 these glaciers all merged in the valley. Huge lateral moraines mark their former positions.
Glacier de Valsorey briefly stopped receding during the 1970 and 1980’s, but melt rates increased afterwards. Although Glacier de Valsorey is the only glacier in the valley that is still worth a visit, it is nevertheless losing twenty to thirty meters of length annually. In total, the glacier receded one and a half kilometer since 1900.
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