Freed from the ice

A herd of Haflinger horses is galloping over the meadows near Schönwieshütte, full of ease and with flowing manes. A green hill, a wide-open valley behind it. Am I really in the Alps? Yes, for sure. Although the landscape of Rotmoostal would fit perfectly into the Scottish Highlands or even Iceland, it is still part of the Ötztal Alps. Everything reminds of an archaic, primeval landscape that has remained almost untouched for ages. The high Alpine valley stretches over four kilometers towards the southeast like a green trough. Only at its end the scree and rock flanks rise towards the rugged peaks in front of the ice fields belonging to Rotmoosferner and Wasserfallferner glaciers.

Both glaciers have retreated significantly in recent years. The rise in temperature can be noticed particularly on these small, eastern Alpine glaciers. And exactly where the ice melted, a new natural habitat is emering. But what will be revealed under the ice? How long does it take for the first life, the first green, and thus a plant and animal world to settle there again?

Today we know that especially the glacier tongues in the lower elevations, which are not covered by rubble, can melt very quickly. The areas freed from the ice are called glacier foreland or forefield. New life develops within a few years. The first bushes and trees are growing at its edges, and dozens of different Alpine flowers are blooming. The roots of this young vegetation stabilize the soil and thus prevent earth, gravel and sand from being washed away during heavy rain and floods. Expert botanist Roland Mayer from the “Ötztal Nature Park” is all enthusiastic: “There are only a few places on earth where nature - flora and fauna - can develop in such a free manner and in such abundance and diversity as in a new glacier foreland. Here, maximum change happens in the smallest of spaces and in the shortest possible time.”

The well-marked hiking trail branches off to the left up to the ridge of Hohe Mut, but I just keep walking straight ahead. I rarely see footprints in the sand. Ice and water have created small moraine ridges and wind-protected hollows here. I carefully put my steps on the rock. Wherever sand and gravel predominate, splashes of color embellish the gray and brown floor. There are thousands and thousands of tiny flowers taking advantage of the summery light and warmth. Sometimes the violet of the Alpine toadflax prevails, followed by the bright yellow of mountain saxifrage. A few meters further I discover Alpine milkvetch and a small hump overgrown with stemless toadflax. I would never have expected such a huge variety of flowers in this barren terrain.

What power is there in all the tiny flowers to get through the sand compacted by rain and wind? In this small glacier foreland at almost 2500 meters altitude, you can experience pure evolution every summer. The glacier brook coming out of Rotmoosferner has ramified its way through the valley by shaping the landscape. Sometimes it meanders around gravel banks, a little later there are almost a dozen of single watercourses flowing out of the valley. Even on the islands in between, which consist only of rubble and sand, it’s blooming season in June and July. To the left and right of the glacier brook you find lush green meadows, damp moss and bog areas for which Rotmoostal side valley is so popular. White cotton grass waves in the mild afternoon wind.

With these words I will probably start a “modern” fairytale for my grandchildren in a few years. It will be a fairytale full of icy adventures and passionate emotions. But one question emerges for sure: Will Rotmoosferner glacier still exist? On some days, the memories I associate with the retreat of the glaciers in the Alps are rather sad. Many ice climbing tours that we were able to go on with boot crampons in our youth – about 40 years ago - are now ice-free mountain tours in midsummer. The glaciers are relentlessly retreating to the high altitudes of the Alps.