Col de la Vanoise: Grande Casse and the Glacier des Grands Couloirs

"La Grande Casse, the highest peak of Vanoise 3,855 m in altitude) demarcates the watershed between Tarentaise and Maurienne. Its summit is partly covered by the Glacier des Grands Couloirs which stretches westward towards Pralognan.During the last ice age (the Würm), which began 125,000 years ago and ended 11,500 years ago, the alpine glacier tongues stopped 30 km from Lyon. Then, the glaciers went through a series of advances and retreats depending on the climate. For example, in the ""Little Ice Age"" between 1600 and 1850 approximately, the glaciers experienced a major advance of their glacial tongues. Today, we notice a sharp retreat of the glacier front as is seen by observing the hanging Glacier des Grands Couloirs. Behind the glacier’s front face, we can clearly see the area abandoned by the glacier (the “abandoned glacier” or the “glarier”)."