A Story by Melissa Farlow

Meltdown, The Alps Under Pressure, National Geographic Magazine

The rugged terrain of the Alps shaped local culture for centuries, but today, man is affecting the mountains. Parading in costumes of moss, men follow ancient Pagan traditions in part of the Tyrol in present-day Austria—in dramatic contrast to the glitzy scene where alpine skiers in St. Moritz use the mountains as Europe’s playground.

The Alps formed millions of years ago when the classic granite was squeezed upward into mountains by the African landmass colliding with Eurasia. Though upper reaches of the Alps are pristine, global warming impacts the lower elevations. Ski resorts use a quick fix by covering the snow pack with high tech fleece blankets to keep it from melting.

Upscale shoppers continue to buy luxury items with a younger generation …

Meltdown, The Alps Under Pressure, National Geographic Magazine

By Melissa Farlow

The rugged terrain of the Alps shaped local culture for centuries, but today, man is affecting the mountains. Parading in costumes of moss, men follow ancient Pagan traditions in part of the Tyrol in present-day Austria—in dramatic contrast to the glitzy scene where alpine skiers in St. Moritz use the mountains as Europe’s playground.

The Alps formed millions of years ago when the classic granite was squeezed upward into mountains by the African landmass colliding with Eurasia. Though upper reaches of the Alps are pristine, global warming impacts the lower elevations. Ski resorts use a quick fix by covering the snow pack with high tech fleece blankets to keep it from melting.

Upscale shoppers continue to buy luxury items with a younger generation learning the ropes. Rural charm attracts spa goers who pay to take a milk bath and relax in a bed of straw for a rustic experience.

Religion is deeply entrenched throughout the Alps but it is often a combination of primitive and Christian traditions. Before Lent and Easter comes Carnival, a celebration of the end of winter. On the last day (the Sunday before Ash Wednesday), Pust, a man-like figure blamed for all the wrongdoings of the past year, is ritually burned.

In isolated valleys of northern Italy where there is subsistence agriculture, people live a simple rural life with a culture and language of their own that supercedes political boundaries.

Tourism now drives the economy. Environmental degradation and increased tourism, however, threaten the area and its diverse culture.

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Donning grotesque masks and costumed suits made from lichen, a father and son leave for the parade of the Wild Ones. They are part of an ancient tradition held in Tyrol of Austria since 1571. The ritual begins when men prepare for the celebration by gathering moss in the woods that is sewn onto clothing by women. This father and son are dressed for the parade of the “Wilde.” The Pagan, end-of-winter festival known as Schleicherlaufen is held in Telfs every five years and attended by as many of 20,000 spectators. The photograph was published in National Geographic magazine in the article, Meltdown: The Alps Under Pressure.”
Skiers in colorful attire brighten the mountain and ski slopes at trendy St. Mortiz, an exclusive resort town in the Engadine Valley of Switzerland. Winter sports are only part of the draw. The Alps are Europe’s playgrounds with over 120 million tourists descending on the region annually. St. Moritz twice hosted the winter Olympic games. This photograph was the lead picture in the National Geographic article, “Meltdown, The Alps Under Pressure.”
Morning fog rises off mountain peaks near Zermatt in the Alps where climbers aspire to the top of the Matterhorn, Ober Gabeilhorn, and Wellenkuppe. Aerial photograph shows classic mountains shapes were formed when the African land mass collided with Eurasia and the granite was squeezed upward. The pristine Swiss-alpine, landscape draws tourists for hiking, skiing, and winter adventures.  
Even dogs are fashionable in the exclusive resort town of St. Mortiz, Switzerland where well-dressed canines don coats and boots to keep warm. Tourists gather to watch and participate in an annual race held on a track built on the ice. Winter sports traditionally draw thousands of tourists to see and be seen in the Alps.
An attempt to keep snow from melting creates an austere, surreal scene at a ski run in Austria. The Alps are pristine at higher reaches, but the effects of climate change and global warming is seen at lower elevations.  Integral to the local economy, ski resorts must be protected from higher temperatures that melt the ice. Workers are hired to cover the snow pack with a fleece blanket to keep it from melting which seems equivalent to putting a band-aid on a glacier. The Alpine glaciers — in Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy — are losing one percent of their mass every year and, even with no acceleration in that rate, they will have all but disappeared by the end of the century. Photograph was published in “Meltdown, The Alps Under Pressure” in National Geographic magazine.
Winter athletes looking for a challenge are drawn to extreme sports like ice diving in Lake St. Moritz in Switzerland. A hole is cut in the frozen lake for the scuba divers, but at night a foot of ice forms over it, so the following morning, the hole must be reopened. After the initial shock, some divers find the experience claustrophobic. Diving in subzero temperature requires advanced diving skills and a desire for adventure.
Extreme winter sports draws adventure seeker Marco Prezelj, a renowned ice climber and mountain guide, to a frozen waterfall in Triglavski National Park in Slovenia. A technical challenge in early spring, the ice candle is brittle and it takes great skill to recognize what ice will shatter under a climber. The only Slovenian national park is located in northwest party of the country near the Italian and Austrian borders.
The Engadin Ski Marathon attracts 16,000 cross-country skiers who race from the far end of Lake Maloja skiing across the frozen ice to St. Moritz, Switzerland. First held in 1969, the 42 km long marathon leads athletes beside a Medieval castle, ice bound lakes and through an entire forest. This aerial photograph shows the stunning alpine scenery beyond the skiers dotting the course near the start of the competition.
Rural charm attracts luxury spa goers for champagne with their milk and honey bath. Then they relax in a bed of straw with white linens and a red blanket for the authenticity of a rustic experience in the alpine village of Cogne, Italy.
Skiers eat and sun at a restaurant in the Suiusi ski area of the Dolomites in northern Italy. Tourists ski around the mountains taking a series of lifts that connect miles of skiing, and then they take breaks to relax and enjoy the outdoors on a winter holiday. The sunny Dolomites are made of a carbonate rock that is pale in color. Although technically in Italy, the locals speak German first, a result of a history that aligns them more with regions to the north.
Athletes like these Italian men on a holiday break out the homemade grappa to have a good time. The friends were having a good time skiing and drinking near Lucomagno Pass in Switzerland. Tourists are drawn to Switzerland’s alpine climate and landscapes and for vacations and mountain sports.
Trendy St. Moritz is famous for its glitzy après-ski scene, which features glamorous shops selling trendy, high-priced designer dresses. Sometimes busier than the ski slopes, the wealthy collect $16,000 red crocodile Prada bags, jewels and furs. Shop windows in the five star luxury hotel Badrutt’s Palace reflect the excesses afforded by well-heeled tourists.
Surrounded by clothes of other workers that are hanging on hooks, a miner undresses to shower and go home at the end of his shift. After 500 years running, a mercury mine is closing in Idrija, Slovenia because there is little need for the metal. In the 1970s, 1,000 men were employed in the mine. Now deemed an environmental nightmare, it will take years for a small crew to properly close the site. The miners work to fill in tunnels that will keep heavy metals run off from polluting groundwater that would create hazards to clean drinking water.
Glamorous young models gather backstage dressed in stylish sunglasses and designer swimwear for a fashion show held at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, a luxurious retreat in St. Moritz. The Swiss hotel is internationally known for its glitz and glamour opened in 1896 and is owned and operated by the same Badrutt family, now in their third generation. The event was a charity event raising funds for a local hospital.
Children carry canvas lanterns, some over a hundred years old that are lit with candles, as they begin a processional on the evening of Good Friday in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The Christian celebration has been held since the 17th century with actors playing the story of Jesus. Costumed Arab slave traders, Jesus and other biblical figures wear historic clothing and create a human tide numbering around 600, as they parade through narrow streets while loud, somber music is played on loud speakers.
Inspired from 17th century traditions, the town of Mendrisio celebrates a religious processional near Easter Sunday. Candles light the doorways above shops as evening falls on the main streets, and Swiss townspeople prepare for 700 children to carry lanterns through the village. Loud speakers play somber music along the route on Good Friday. On Maundy Thursday, people representing the Jews and the Romans portray Christ’s journey to Calvary. The actors wear magnificent costumes bought from the La Scala Theater in Milan, and some 50 horses also participate in the procession.
Standing in a doorway with the convent cat, a nun leaves the kitchen after lunch is prepared at Val Mustair, a world-famous Benedictine Convent. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded in the 8th Century, the cloistered religious community has been home to Benedictine nuns since the 12th Century in the mountains of Switzerland. Eleven nuns make their home behind closed walls, living a life of commitment to poverty and celibacy. Each nun has her work and they come together for prayer and meals.
A bachelor living alone in the small village in the Dolomites reads a Ladin newspaper and watches a mass during a funeral on television in honor of an Italian soldier.  Although neighbors check in, he lives an isolated life in the rural Ladino town that has a small population. The man was a farmer but was injured and lives a modest life surviving on two pensions—one for his age and the other for his injury. Ladin is an ancient culture that is unique to the Dolomites. The people have their own language, traditions and even their own cuisine with roots dating as far back as the Roman Empire. It is only recently that Ladin was recognized as a language. The direct consequence of this is that now the language is taught in schools, and there are radio and television programs as well as a Ladin newspaper published weekly.
During Carnival in the small village of Dreznica, Slovenia (population 65), bachelors dress in costume and parade through the village stopping to rap on every door in town. Neighbors invite them in to eat and drink, and to celebrate. Ancient Europeans believed that evil caused the dark and cold winter. When spring arrived, they came out to rejoice that light once again won over darkness, and to begin another year. The Pagan custom is preserved and rooted in the culture. Published in National Geographic magazine story “Meltdown, The Alps Under Pressure.”
Friends share stories over coffee at a restaurant while waiting for a funeral in La Valle, Italy. People in isolated communities in the Dolomites share a strong Ladin culture that is unique to the Dolomites. The Ladin people have their own language, traditions and even their own cuisine with roots dating as far back as the Roman Empire.
Carnival is celebrated in the Slovenian countryside displaying a variety of costumes and individual characters among which the most popular is the Kurent (plural: Kurenti), a monstrous and demon-like, but fluffy figure. Costumes of long, white fur and large cowbells are very old traditions and the highlight of the Ptuj Carnival parade. A father and son remove their heavy, hot masks to take a break during the merry making. The lore of Pust or Carnival in old Europe traces back to Pagan beliefs that the dark and cold winter was caused by evil.  When people found the first signs of spring, they celebrated when light won over the darkness of winter.
St. Bernard dogs were bred in the Alps to find their way through cold, deep snows to rescue lost and injured people. The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed are from monks at the hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass in 1707, with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier. With the use of GPS and technical devices to track victims today, the dog is only a symbol of safety and loyalty. A few of the famed canines are a tourists’ attraction, and are well cared for by a foundation in Martigny, France.
Tourists come from all over the world to take the Gornergrat Railway train from Zermatt up a mountain in the Alps for a clear view of the Matterhorn. They stop to pose for pictures with icons of the region including the Swiss flag. Many souvenir photos are taken with the famed St. Bernard dog, beloved because of the lore of rescuing people trapped by avalanches in the alpine region.
Ladino families work together raking hay in the fields by hand in the traditional way on their farm in northern Italy. The Ladin culture is strong in La Valle where people have their own language, and there is a strong German influence. They have close family ties and follow customs passed down through many generations. Ladin is an ancient culture that is exclusive to the Dolomite region, and it dates back to the time of the Roman Empire. In rural mountain areas, the population is dwindling. Adult brothers and sisters often live together and remain unmarried because potential spouses are few.  The woman and her nephew take a short break while raking hay.
A small picturesque village sits in a cleared valley between steep slopes of mountains in northern Italy vulnerable to avalanches. Motor traffic and increased settlements traps air over these isolated communities causing inversions and air pollution. Forests health is also affected by the environmental problems.
A horse drawn sleigh carries three members of the Ladin community of LaValle up the mountain to the church. Generations of families follow the traditions of their elders wearing simple costumes and speaking their unique Romache language.  Spring melts winter snows, but the skies remain gray in the rural region in the Dolomites of Italy. Ladina is a region in north Italy where people live following traditions of an ancient culture that is unique to the Dolomites, and with roots dating as far back as the Roman Empire.

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