Hmm, sounds like you’re making more of a semantics and philosophical argument. I don’t believe in a cause. I read studies and interview scientists and report what they are saying. In this case, they are saying that nobody else has documented this type of glacier collapse and they presented data suggesting that the collapse was caused by a number of factors (the non-climate factors are also explained in the article) including a sudden and steep upturn in temperatures and precipitation, as well as rain events at a high elevation that are also unusual. I reported on avalanches extensively during 20 years of journalism in Colorado and I’m pretty well-versed in the scientific literature of avalanches, that’s why I asked if you had any specific links to studies about such large events. I’d be really interested in reading about others. I can’t find any references to any events near this size, going back to historic literature on mountains from the 1800s from a collection at the American Alpine Center’s library in Golden, Colorado, as well as a similar and more extensive collection at the University of Innsbruck. Would love to check out some of the old libraries in the Buddhist temples in Tibet to see if there are any records there.

At first I thought the same as you — I said to myself, “there MUST be other example of such glacier collapses, but apparently not. (Added: there are a few scar marks in some mountain ranges to suggest that perhaps some similar events happened, but those geologic features haven’t been studied closely yet).

I don’t have any reason to doubt what the scientists are saying because it’s based on scientific facts, physics, on-the-ground observations and satellite images that tell a fascinating story of glacier change. To me, that’s the most interesting part of this — that they were able to look back at historic temperature data and satellite images going back to declassified images from the 60s, to recreate the recent history of these glaciers. I’m totally fascinated by these living rivers of ice. They are an amazing part of our planet! I’m happy to have a dialogue about science, but I’m not going to get into the argument of who believes in what. And if you’re suggesting I should believe you just because you say so over the scientists who show data, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Show me facts!