Story: The age-old lure of the peaks

Scaling the heights of the Basòdino

High up in the Upper Maggia Valley to discover the Basòdino glacier: a fascinating ancient formation.

From the exotic palms lining the shores of Lake Maggiore, to the rocky white crests of the glaciers. Ticino’s landscape is varied and packed with contrasts. There is no question that the Basòdino glacier deserves a visit.

THE CHARACTER

Giovanni Kappenberger e Mattia Soldati, glaciologist and Forestry Department employee.

Giovanni Kappenberger e Mattia Soldati, glaciologist and Forestry Department employee.
We recommend the Basodino glaciological trail to everyone: it’s stunning and introduces you to the essence of the glacier.

THE COMPLETE STORY

Their allure is indisputable. Towering majestically above us, glaciers form a key part of the alpine landscape in Switzerland and Ticino. They boast multiple ecological, hydrological and protective functions, with their ice representing an important water reserve and soil stabiliser. Extensive monitoring carried out by the Cantonal Forestry Department and GLAMOS (the Swiss glacier monitoring network, which aims to study glacier variations) has ascertained their imminent retreat. The Basodino glacier, located in the Upper Maggia Valley, is no exception, illustrating the climate change that is taking place south of the Alps year by year. Giovanni Kappenberger, glaciologist, and Mattia Soldati, Forestry Department employee responsible for monitoring Ticino’s glaciers, have been observing the changes taking place for some time. What emerges is a continuously evolving landscape with which we need to learn to live, with challenges as well as pleasant surprises in store. The glacier could be described as a climate change litmus paper, a tangible sign of how the climate is changing rapidly. And it is precisely for this reason, Mattia explains, that the measurements are important: they provide information that tell how the landscape is evolving.

Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley

Mattia is responsible for the measurements of the front that are performed once a year, always between August and September. Using a high-precision GPS device, Mattia can move along the front of the glacier, that is to say at its lowest part, and around every 20 metres he measures a point to obtain a line; the front line. This is then compared to last year’s measurement, showing us how the length of the glacier has changed. Giovanni, on the other hand, monitor the glacier’s mass balance. This measurement, which takes place at various points on the glacier in April and September, makes it possible to quantify the variation in a glacier’s mass in metres of water equivalent.

Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley

The Basodino glacier is one of Ticino’s largest glaciers and was the first to be measured back in 1892. However, there is also the Vadrecc di Bresciana (Blenio Valley), the Valleggia and Corno (Bedretto Valley), the Tencia glacier (Leventina Valley), which is little more than a patch of ice today, and the Cavagnoli (Maggia Valley), which will probably disappear completely in a few years. The condition of Ticino's glaciers is not exactly optimal and the current climate does not help, explains Giovanni. They have a fairly slow reaction time and huge amounts of energy are needed to melt the ice and make it disappear.

In actual fact, real glaciers are no longer measured in Ticino these days. They no longer have a glacial dynamic. But there are still some frozen surfaces, that are monitoring their retreat. There is less and less snow on the ice when performing the measurements. And snow is essential for glaciers to exist.

Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley
Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley

Although the reaction time is slow, the speed of the retreat is considerable.

Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley
As you make your way down from the Basodino, there is now luxuriant vegetation where once there was ice.
Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley

The two experts who cross them when mountaineering, we are also seeing a change in the glacier itself. There are more crevasses, the ice is breaking up more. We have to get used to these changes, it is a challenge to which we will inevitably have to adapt. At the moment there are no solutions to limit the retreat of glaciers, only to delay their disappearance. In some Swiss regions for example, particularly in tourist and skiing areas, they have used tarpaulins, but these are only temporary solutions that do not solve the problem.

However, the retreat of the Basodino glacier, is also creating new landscapes, as Mattia noticed during his measurements. Where there was once ice there are now little flowers and new plants. Their dramatic retreat and imminent disappearance should make people reflect on the cause: global warming for which all are jointly responsible.

Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley
Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley

"Where there were once glaciers we will soon have lots of little alpine lakes."

Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley
Basòdino Glacier, Maggia Valley
Pro tip
Did you know that in the Bedretto Valley (on the Geren Pass), 'icebergs' have emerged from a glacier that is turning into a lake?
The Basòdino trail allows you to explore the local natural landscape. A series of information boards along the way provide useful details about the area around the glacier.
"Front" is the term for the lower edge of the tongue, to which the glacier length and regression measurements refer.

"We need to adapt and look at the positive aspect of the changes."

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