The Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco held a series of events in Boulder, Colorado, on June 3 and 4, 2024, with the support of the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI), the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA), and the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America.
Excursion: The program started off with an excursion for a small group of opinion leaders to the Rocky Mountains led by two international mountain guides from Switzerland and Colorado.
Public Event: On the next day, June 4, Swiss and U.S. experts shared their insights on topics related to ice melt and snowmelt. From glacial dynamics to climate change impacts, the thought-provoking discussions bridged scientific knowledge across borders.
Reception and panel discussion: The series of events closed off with a panel discussion and a pop-up multi-media exhibition of Swiss artist Céline Ducret, who displayed the results of her artist-scientist tandem “sensing in/formation” within the PolARTS project, co-led by the Swiss Polar Institute and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Meet the experts of the public event
Mountain Guides
Climate change through the mountain guides’ lens: emotional & professional impacts
Angela Hawse
Vice President of the Technical Commission, International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA)
Angela Hawse is an internationally licensed IFMGA Mountain Guide. She was the former president of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), where she also trained aspiring guides for the past two decades. Angela is currently on the IFMGA Board and vice president of the IFMGA Technical Commission. She has guided skiing, rock and alpine climbing in 22 different countries and areas including the Arctic and Antarctic regions. She is on the Protect Our Winters Climb Alliance Team, a Black Diamond Equipment Athlete and was the 2022 recipient of the AMGA Lifetime Achievement in Guiding Award. Resident of Ridgway, Colorado, Angela holds a Master’s Degree in International Mountain Conservation.
Urs Wellauer
President of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA)
Urs Wellauer is a renowned mountain guide with a career spanning over four decades. Beginning as a surveyor, he underwent intensive training in Switzerland to become a certified mountain guide in the 1980s. Since then, he has led expeditions worldwide, from the Swiss Alps to Kamchatka, Russia. In addition to his guiding career, Urs has been instrumental in shaping industry standards. He founded the Rope Access Standard Swiss Mountain Guide Association and has held leadership roles in professional organizations, including serving as president of the IFMGA.
Researchers
Scientific facts to underline the experience of snowmelt and ice melt.
Jeff Derry
Director, Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies
“From Flakes to Flow: Unveiling the Dynamics of Snow, Dust, and Water in Colorado”
Jeff Derry is originally from Colorado Springs and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a Master’s of Science in Watershed Science from the Colorado State University with an emphasis on snow hydrology. His passion for polar regions led him to work as a field camp manager and science technician in Antarctica and Greenland for 10 years. As a consultant in Fairbanks, Alaska, he conducted applied research in the Arctic for five years. He worked as an air quality monitoring specialist on projects around the world. The arc of Jeff’s life brought him to the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies in 2015, where he now draws upon his range of skills and experience to contribute to the future development of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies.
Keith Musselman
Associate Professor, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado
Future Predictions & Climate Justice
Dr. Keith Musselman grew up on the U.S. East Coast, where his excitement for the science of weather, climate, and snow grew from his love for skiing, snowboarding, and surfing. As a hydrologist at the University of Colorado, he studies how mountain snowpack supports sustainable forest ecosystems and water supply for people, wildlife and agriculture. Motivated by the thrill of scientific discovery and collaborative communication, Keith develops approaches with diverse groups, including indigenous leaders, to devise sustainable adaptation and decision strategies. Effective communication of climate change issues to diverse groups and the public is a central theme of his work. Keith conducts fieldwork on three continents and uses supercomputers to assess climate change impacts on water availability, streamflow, and flood risk. Keith has authored over 40 publications. His work has been featured broadly in media, including the New York Times.
Michael Lehning
Professor of Cryospheric Sciences at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Michael Lehning is a distinguished professor at (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL/SLF) in Davos. His expertise includes cryosphere-atmosphere interactions, snow processes, natural hazards warning and forecasting, and the dynamics of mountain hydrology and permafrost. Additionally, he focuses on renewable energy in the Alps as part of Switzerland’s energy transition agenda. Prof. Lehning has led numerous significant projects, such as the EU Interreg and Cantonal Funding for Alpine flood forecasting and climate change, and the ETH CCES “Swiss Experiment” project on interdisciplinary environmental observation systems. He has also been principal investigator for various Swiss National Science Foundation projects, including studies on wind tunnel investigations of snow ventilation and field investigations of surface heterogeneity in mountains. His contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the Bavarian Scholarship for Highly Gifted Students, the best student paper award at the American Meteorological Society conference. Michael Lehning’s work has advanced the understanding of alpine environments, integrating cutting-edge technology and interdisciplinary research to address pressing environmental challenges.
World Heritage Site
Dr. Hans Christian Leiggener
Director, UNESCO World Heritage Swiss-Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
“UNESCO World Heritage Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch and its glacial dimensions”
Dr. Hans Christian Leiggener is the CEO of the Foundation UNESCO World Heritage of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch and its visitors’ center World Nature Forum. He holds a PhD in General Linguistics and Linguistics’ Geography and a Master of Arts in German Literature and Linguistics from the University of Bern. Dr. Hans Christian worked as Wealth Manager for most of his career in the private sector, and is currently serving multiple philanthropic mandates in different regions of Switzerland such as the “Oldest Grapevine of Switzerland”, “Plattform Haslital”, and “Dialogue des sciences”.
His passion as an active mountain guide and ski touring guide remains unwavering since 1998.
Meet the experts of the panel discussion
Mitch Tobin (Moderator)
Co-director of Water Desk
Mitch Tobin is co-director of The Water Desk, an independent journalism initiative at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism that focuses on Western water issues. He covers snow science and the state of the snowpack at snow.news, a free newsletter on Substack. Mitch is a former newspaper reporter and author of Endangered: Biodiversity on the Brink, which won a gold medal in the Independent Book Publisher Awards. An avid skier, he lives in southwest Colorado and contributes aerial/landscape photography to The Water Desk’s free multimedia library.
Céline Ducret
Multi-Disciplinary Artist
Céline Ducret reflects on the human-made impact on post-industrial ecologies and their tangible traces. Her artistic practice acknowledges the inherent agency of the material itself, with an emphasis on the textile medium. In her installations, a change of state and scale occurs between the monumental and the imperceptible, the tangible and the virtual. She develops alternative histories to enable new perspectives and develop spaces to reflect on the interactions of ecosystems, fluid borders, and transformative mutual relationship. Céline’s work envisions a transition from a human-centered perspective to a multi-species worldview. She explores the relationship between nature and humans in the past, present, and possible future. Through rigorous experimentation to alter, modify, stretch, and compress the significance of matter, she reveals contemporary fossils of our modern, materialistic reality.
Céline Ducret and Stefan Fugger were selected for PolARTS 2022, the artist/scientist tandem, initiated by the Swiss Polar Institute and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Jonathan Koehn
Director of Climate Initiatives, City of Boulder
Jonathan Koehn has been a leader on Boulder’s Climate Initiatives Team since 2006 when he joined the organization as the Manager for the Office of Environmental Affairs. He came from Flagstaff, AZ, where he oversaw the city’s conservation and sustainability programs. In his tenure with Boulder, Koehn was instrumental in the decade-long effort to create a locally owned and operated electric utility followed by building the city’s innovative partnership with Xcel Energy to help move the city toward its energy, equity and resilience goals. Additionally, he has spearheaded the city’s efforts to slow climate change and build a more resilient community through his work in renewable energy, natural climate solutions and the circular economy. Jonathan’s multifaceted career includes substantial experience in the not-for-profit sectors and municipal government. He began his tenure in Boulder as the Environmental Manager for the city in 2006, and has continued to work with federal, state, regional and local governments and their constituencies domestically and internationally to develop strategic and tactical solutions to energy and climate challenges. Jonathan holds positions on multiple Advisory Boards and Commissions including the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) and Colorado Communities for Climate Action (CC4CA). He holds degrees in Environmental Science, Biology and Marine Sciences.
Ambassador Balz Abplanalp
Consul General of Switzerland in San Francisco
Ambassador Balz Abplanalp assumed his current posting in February 2022 representing Switzerland in 13 States of the Western US, including Alaska. He leads the “Team Switzerland” at Pier 17 (Consulate General, Swissnex, the Swiss Business Hub, and Switzerland Tourism). Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Mr. Abplanalp was Ambassador of Switzerland to the Sultanate of Oman and to the Republic of Yemen. During his 22 years in the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) he held positions as Deputy Head of Mission at the Swiss Embassies in South Africa and in Colombia, as Science and Technology Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the EU in Brussels, as Diplomatic Advisor for Switzerland’s Chairmanship of the European Space Agency and as Desk Officer for the Swiss-US relations in Berne. Prior to joining the FDFA he worked as journalist, high school teacher, and lobbyist for the Swiss National Science Foundation. Mr. Abplanalp has a Master’s Degree in Geography and Contemporary History, and Economics from the University of Fribourg as well as a Master’s Degree in Advanced European Studies from the University of Basel.
Emily J. Zmak
Deputy Section Chief Interstate, Federal, and Water Information, Colorado Water Conservation Board
Emily J. Zmak is a mediator and facilitator specializing in transboundary water conflicts. As Deputy Chief for the Interstate & Federal section at the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), she supports engineers, scientists, lawyers, Tribal Nations, and policymakers in developing and implementing policies and programs related to Colorado’s interstate compacts. This includes critical work on the Colorado River, Arkansas River, and Platte River. Prior to joining CWCB, Emily worked as the water practice lead at CDR Associates, where she facilitated stakeholder input on a variety of water projects across the American West. Her career has also included international roles such as an engagement specialist in Malawi, a team lead in responding to refugee landings in Lesvos, Greece, and a researcher on water issues for a US-based mining company. Emily’s journey in water issues began with a Fulbright grant in Kyrgyzstan, where she researched transboundary water conflicts. This foundational experience has deeply informed her approach to mediation and facilitation in the complex arena of water resource management.
Angela Hawse
Vice President of the Technical Commission, International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA)
See bio above
About the Pop-Up Multimedia Exhibition
Céline Ducret
“sensing in/formation”
Over the course of a year, an artist and a scientist engaged in a conversation about mountainous landscapes, water, and the human observer. At first, there was mutual appreciation for each other’s worlds, a wondrous look and a silent barrier. But the deeper they dug, the more their languages converged, until they reached a place where science and art, the descriptive and the aesthetic, the rational and the poetic, all became one. Click here for more information on the tandem.
Meet our partners
International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA)
The IFMGA is an international umbrella federation for mountain guide associations. It governs the profession of mountain guiding through different mechanisms directed to various stakeholders: the public, member associations, mountain guides, authorities, media, as well as competitors.
The SPI provides services to and promotes synergies within the polar community in Switzerland. Its objectives center on strengthening Swiss polar science to address global challenges, facilitating access to infrastructure and polar science initiatives, federating the Swiss polar science community, bringing polar science closer to the Swiss public, and supporting innovative partnerships.
Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America
As the official representation of Switzerland in the United States, the Embassy covers all matters concerning diplomatic relations between the two countries. It represents Swiss interests in the areas of political, economic, financial and legal affairs, as well as science, education, and culture.
