Vonn, Shiffrin and Brignone among the Olympic skiers voicing concern over receding glaciers

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Team USA skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin, along with Italy’s Federica Brignone, are among the many skiers who have expressed concern during these Olympic Games about the accelerating melt of the world’s glaciers.

And Olympic host city Cortina is a fitting place for them to be talking about climate change: Glaciers once visible from town have dramatically shrunk. Many have been reduced to tiny glaciers or residual ice patches at high elevations among the jagged peaks of the Dolomites. Any Olympian or spectator wishing to lay eyes on a major glacier would have to take a long drive on winding mountain roads to the Marmolada. It’s melting rapidly, too.

The world’s top skiers train on glaciers because of the high-quality snow there, and a warming world jeopardizes the future of their sport. Vonn s...