The problem with mountain tourism in Europe

Switzerland’s Jungfrau is sometimes deemed to dangerous to climb.

The French village of Chamonix has been the thriving centre of European mountaineering for more than three centuries. But climate change is upending the once-reliable seasons that underpin the region’s important tourism industry.

The Alps have warmed by about 0.5°C each decade since the 1980s, according to the Research Centre for Alpine Ecosystems. That’s made some of the most used routes more dangerous – and at times unclimbable – as rockfall increases and glaciers melt.