68) Marboré Oeste

Extinguido

The Marboré Oeste glacier, clearly visible from the Gavarnie Valley, was formed by three ice fields (eastern, central and western), located on the north-northwest slope of Marboré Peak. The morainic traces of the Little Ice Age indicate a marked tendency towards a trilogy in the 19th century, when the complex must have covered an area of 37 hectares.
Until the end of the 1980s, they behaved like three small active glaciers. They often gave the impression that the eastern and central glaciers were joined, but in reality they were the remains of a shared snowfield, which provided them with some protection from solar radiation. This also made it difficult to observe their evolution and date their final extinction.
The highest was the eastern glacier (1), which received snow from the northern corridor of Marboré. It was also the most deteriorated and extensive of the three, although the fact that much of its surface was covered by eroded material gave the opposite impression. The one located in the centre (2) and the westernmost one (3) received snowfall from both sides of the north-western spur of Marboré.
In 2022, the eastern and central glaciers were last observed in a residual state, while the western glacier was in a better state of preservation. The exceptionally warm year of 2023 saw the extinction of both sections. In 2024, persistent snowfields occupied the former location of the three disappeared glaciers.
This trilogy of the 68) Marboré Oeste glacier should not be confused with the nearby 62) Oriental, 63) Central and 64) Occidental de Marboré glaciers, which together formed the Glaciar Este de Marboré or del Cilindro and are located in the Monte Perdido massif.

Este aparato glaciar pertenece al siguiente macizo:

I) Gavarnie Massif

Aragón
12 glaciers

Galería de imágenes

Image of the location of the Marboré Oeste glacier (68) in 2017, with the three ice fields that formed it (1-2-3), attached to the north wall of Pico de Marboré (3), and close to the three Picos de la Cascada (4). The Petit Astazú (2) and the Collado de Astazú (14), which separates the Gavarnie slope from that of the Monte Perdido Massif, with its Upper Icefield (58) and Lower Glacier (59), and the Eastern (62), Central (63) and Western (64) glaciers of Marboré, with the summit of Cilindro (15). (Jordi Camins).

The Marboré Oeste glacier (68) in 2012, consisting of three ice fields (1-2-3). Petit Astazú (2), Pico de Marboré (3) and the Tres Picos de la Cascada (4), with the Helero de La Cascada (69). (Jordi Camins).

On the left, the Marboré Oeste glacier between 1904 and 1914. On the right, the La Cascada glacier. (Juli Soler Santaló – AFCEC).

From the same location as the previous image, the Heleros del AG in Marboré Oeste in 1992. On the right is the Glaciar de la Cascada. (Jordi Camins).

Ten years after the previous image, the three ice harvesters of the Marboré Oeste AG in 2002. (Jordi Camins).

Detail of the central fragment (68-2) of the Marboré Oeste glacier in 2012, in acceptable condition. (Jordi Camins).

The three glacier fragments of Marboré Oeste in 2022, with the eastern and central fragments (1-2) severely deteriorated, while the western fragment (3) is better preserved at a lower altitude. (Jordi Camins).

In 2022, detail of fragments 68-1 and 2 of the Marboré Oeste glacier, in a residual state, one year before its extinction. (Jordi Camins).

In 2022, detail of iceberg 68-3 of the Marboré Oeste glacier, which despite its apparent better state of conservation, did not survive the unfavourable year 2023. (Jordi Camins).

In 2024, the snow pits once again occupy the former location of the three extinct ice pits that formed the Marboré Oeste glacier. (Jordi Camins).