The world's highest ski resort was once in Bolivia. Now, it's a ghost town with abandoned buildings
The world's highest ski resort was once in Bolivia. Now, it's a ghost town with abandoned buildings and a gloomy past.
Monica Humphries Jun 15, 2021, 11:23 AM
An abandoned ski resort building sits on the cliffside of the Chacaltaya mountain.
Matthew Williams-Ellis/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
For decades, Bolivia held a record-shattering title: It was home to the world's highest ski resort.
An arrow points to the abandoned Chacaltaya ski resort. luixjunior/Shutterstock
The Chacaltaya ski resort opened in the 1930s, according to Atlas Obscura.
In its prime, Chacaltaya earned Bolivia numerous titles. It was the country's only ski resort, as well as the world's highest ski resort and restaurant, according to Atlas Obscura.
Built on the Chacaltaya glacier, the resort sat 17,519 feet above sea level, which was higher than the North Base Camp at Mount Everest, Atlas Obscura reported.
The resort's restaurantM was also the highest restaurant in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Travelers from Bolivia and around the world would vacation at the Chacaltaya resort.
More;
https://www.insider.com/abandoned-chacaltaya-ski-resort-once-worlds-highest-ski-resort-2021-6#travelers-from-bolivia-and-around-the-world-would-vacation-at-the-chacaltaya-resort-2
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Box 11 Retreat of Chacaltaya and its effects case study of a small disappearing glacier in Bolivia
Last Updated on Wed, 06 Jan 2021 | Change Impacts
The observed general glacier retreat in the warming tropical Andes has increased significantly in recent decades (Francou et al., 2005). Small-sized glaciers are particularly vulnerable in warmer climates, with many of them having already disappeared in several parts of the world during the last century. The Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia (16°S) is a typical example of a disappearing small glacier, whose area in 1940 was 0.22 km2, and which has currently reduced (in 2005) to less than 0.01 km2 (Figure 1.1) (Ramirez et al., 2001; Francou et al., 2003; Berger et al., 2005), with current estimates showing that it may disappear completely before 2010. In the period 1992 to 2005, the glacier suffered a loss of 90% of its surface area, and 97% of its volume of ice (Berger et al., 2005). Although, in the tropics, glacier mass balance responds sensitively to changes in precipitation and humidity (see Lemke et al., 2007, Section 4.5.3), the fast glacier shrinkage of Chacaltaya is consistent with an ascent of the 0°C isotherm of about 50 m/decade in the tropical Andes since the 1980s (Vuille et al., 2003), resulting in a corresponding rise in the equilibrium line of glaciers in the region (Coudrain et al., 2005).
Ice melt from Chacaltaya Glacier, located in Choqueyapu Basin, provides part of the water resources for the nearby city of La Paz, allowing the release of water stored as ice throughout the long, dry winter season (April-September). Many basins in the tropical Andes have experienced an increase in runoff in recent decades, while precipitation has remained almost constant or has shown a tendency to decrease (Coudrain et al., 2005). This short-term increase in runoff is interpreted as the consequence of glacier retreat, but in the long term there will be a reduction in water supply as the glaciers shrink beyond a critical limit (Jansson et al., 2003).
Chacaltaya Glacier, with a mean altitude of 5,260 m above sea level, was the highest skiing station in the world until a very few years ago. After the accelerated shrinkage of the glacier during the 1990s, enhanced by the warm 1997/98 El Niño, Bolivia lost its only ski area (Figure 1.1), directly affecting the development of snow sports and recreation in this part of the Andes, where glaciers are an important part of the cultural heritage.
Figure 1.1. Areal extent of Chacaltaya Glacier, Bolivia, from 1940 to 2005. By 2005, the glacier had separated into three distinct small bodies. The position of the ski hut, which did not exist in 1940, is indicated with a red cross. The ski lift, which had a length of about 800 m in 1940 and about 600 m in 1996, was normally installed during the summer months (precipitation season in the tropics) and covered a major portion of the glacier, as indicated with a continuous line. The original location of the ski lift in 1940 is indicated with a segmented line in subsequent epochs. After 2004, skiing was no longer possible. Photo credits: Francou and Vincent (2006) and Jordan (1991).
More:
https://www.climate-policy-watcher.org/change-impacts-2/box-11-retreat-of-chacaltaya-and-its-effects-case-study-of-a-small-disappearing-glacier-in-bolivia.html