Colorado’s St. Mary’s Glacier has Completely Melted for the First Known Time

As of this month, Colorado’s St. Mary’s Glacier has completely melted for the first known time in history. Although St. Mary’s “Glacier” is scientifically a perennial snowfield, not a real glacier, it’s known to hold snow all summer until late-fall storms provide a refresh. However, the below-average snowpack from last winter, paired with an extremely hot summer has recently turned the last bit of snow into nothing but a cold, melted stream. For skiers and snowboarders looking to check off their September turns, they will now have to venture elsewhere.

All summer long throughout many decades, skiers and snowboarders in the region have loaded up their gear and made the short trek up to St. Mary’s Glacier to make some summer turns. Located north of Interstate 70, just about an hour west of Denver, the snowfield could be reached via a moderate, 1.5-mile hike. St. Mary’s provided easily accessible, year-round snow. Over the last decade, the snowfield has been receding and slowly disappearing as the climate continues to change. Unfortunately, this trend isn’t just limited to this perennial snowfield in Colorado, but glaciers all across the globe are melting and collapsing, proving this to be a smaller problem on a much larger scale.

• Related: The Glaciers Aren’t Melting—They’re Collapsing

Throughout the years, this perennial snowfield has gone through ebbs and flows of gaining and losing mass, as glaciers normally do. However, pictures and videos on social media from hikers and skiers show that this year, with the ongoing heatwave and lack of snowpack, St. Mary’s was destined to completely disappear. Those that typically turn to this trusted patch of snow for their summer skiing and turns-all-year bragging rights, saw things trending in this unfortunate direction.

• Related: Turns All Year: A Guide for How to Ski Every Month of the Year in North America

For nearly 40 years, this area was home to a small ski area associated with St. Mary’s Glacier Lodge and Resort. Complete with three lifts, one T-bar, and two rope tows, this beautiful region has been a skiing attraction for a long time. The ski area was open from 1930 until 1986, when it stopped operating and has been closed ever since. However, it has remained a popular area for backcountry skiing and snowboarding thanks to its proximity to Denver.

The loss of St. Mary’s Glacier has major implications regarding the health of our climate. The effects are seen and felt directly by tons of people who recreate in the area. For many, the tradition of “turns all year” is about more than just getting a few turns in shorts and a T-shirt; it’s about the journey, not just the destination. The same goes for hikers or families looking for a snowy reprieve from the hot sun. Of course, with a few good winters, the St. Mary’s Glacier could possibly return. As the climate keeps changing and as temperatures rise across the globe, it’s questionable whether the once-perennial snowfield will ever stick around again through the warmer months.