At 17,388 feet above sea level, Chacaltaya, an 18,000 year-old glacier that delighted thousands of visitors for decades, is gone, completely melted away as of some sad, undetermined moment early this year. According to Yale Environment 360 report the world's highest ski area Chacaltaya (which means "cold road" in Aymara) situated in Bolivia has ceased to function due to global warming. The snowcap where the ski area lays has melted down and now the area is barren and desolate.
Chacaltaya ski area was founded in 1939. A road built by courageous locals in the 1930's links Bolivian capital La Paz and Chacaltaya. The head of that construction perished in an avalanche in 1945 and is believed by Bolivians to be a victim of the snow gods disturbed by works.
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