Tropical Glaciers in the Andes Are the Smallest They’ve Been in 11,700 Years

By Alexa Robles-Gil

Along a valley of the Cordillera Blanca in Peru, Emilio Mateo set out on a 10-mile hike up to the Queshque Glacier. Following the tracks of llamas and cattle, Mateo, a researcher at the Aspen Global Change Institute, and his research assistant were on their way to collect glacier samples. Armed with a hammer and chisel, and empty backpacks to carry back 35 pounds of bedrock samples, their goal was to get as close as possible to the glacier and reach a still-forming glacial lake that wasn’t there 15 years ago.