Leading Alpine skiers say melting glaciers are threatening the future of their sport and the wider environment.
At the Winter Olympics in Cortina, athletes highlighted how dramatically the ice has shrunk in recent decades.
Lindsey Vonn said many glaciers she trained on as a child have almost disappeared.
Mikaela Shiffrin added that skiers witness climate change first-hand on high mountains.
Italy’s Federica Brignone said the retreat of glaciers now raises concern for the planet, not just skiing.
Scientists report that Italy has lost more than 200 square kilometres of glacier area since the late 1950s.
The decline has accelerated sharply in the past two decades.
Glaciers near Cortina have shrunk to small ice patches, while the Marmolada – the largest in the Dolomites – has halved in 25 years.
Researchers warn that glacier loss threatens water supplies, increases mountain hazards and contributes to sea-level rise.
Globally, more than 6.5 trillion tonnes of ice have disappeared since 2000.
Athletes say training conditions are worsening as snow cover declines and crevasses and exposed rock spread.
Some traditional autumn training sites now lack sufficient snow.
Projects such as the University of Innsbruck’s glacier monitoring initiative show that limiting warming to 1.5°C could preserve many Alpine glaciers.
Higher temperature rises would see most disappear within decades.
Skiers are increasingly calling for emissions cuts and reduced fossil-fuel sponsorship in winter sports.
They warn that without rapid action, the number of viable Winter Olympic venues will shrink and the sport’s future will be at risk.
