White Was The Snow: the fragility of our planet's icy giants

InsidetheRhôneGlacier,Switzerland,2019
The Rhône Glacier is the source of the river Rhône and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva. The glacier, which 10,000 years ago covered the majority of Switzerland, has retreated 1,300 metres in the last 120 years, a visible consequence of climate change — The Rhône Glacier, Switzerland. Image: Thomas Wrede

Photographer Thomas Wrede captures the fragile beauty of glaciers across the world in his White Was The Snow project

With 2025 designated the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation by the United Nations, Thomas Wrede’s White Was the Snow project, a long-term photographic exploration of glaciers, is especially pertinent.

Focusing on sites such as the Rhône Glacier in the Swiss Alps – where protective fleece coverings create a distinctive ‘packaged landscape’ – and the Presena Glacier in the Italian Alps, known for its striking ‘blood snow’, Wrede’s work transcends mere documentation. As glaciers retreat at unprecedented rates worldwide, contributing significantly to sea level rise – one of the biggest threats facing our planet – this UN initiative provides a crucial platform to raise global awareness about these fragile environments.

Wrede’s White Was the Snow exhibition is on at Bernhard Knaus Fine Art in Frankfurt until 19 April 2025.

Inside the Rhône Glacier, Switzerland, 2019

The Rhône Glacier is the source of the river Rhône and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva. The glacier, which 10,000 years ago covered the majority of Switzerland, has retreated 1,300 metres in the last 120 years, a visible consequence of climate change.

Rhône Glacier, Switzerland, 2020

Originally white, these protective fleece blankets now show the wear of time and exposure. They still function to reflect sunlight, reducing melt in the covered area by up to 70 per cent.

Diavolezza, Switzerland, 2020

For ten years, summer coverings have protected this glacier, saving it from complete extinction and resulting in a remarkable ten-metre increase in thickness.

Rhône Glacier, Switzerland, 2019

Presena Glacier, Italy, 2020

Since 2008, the Presena Glacier has been covered with geotextile fabrics (synthetic blankets), reducing the summer melting of snow by 52 per cent.

While these measures have temporarily preserved 350,000 cubic metres of glacier, the Presena glacier still experiences a net loss of 600,000 cubic metres of ice mass annually.

Presena Glacier, Italy, 2020

On the Presena Glacier, ‘blood snow’ blooms: pink algae thrive in the meltwater warmed by rising temperatures, creating surreal colours. The pink algae discolours the ice, darkening it and thus causing more rapid melting.