As far as current global observations are concerned, Hansen cites both the decline of Arctic sea ice and the worldwide retreat of mountain glaciers as causes for major concern.

CNN: Carbon dioxide levels already a danger

Parked directly on top of the mountain is a vast Ice Age glacier that Jules Verne, who never visited Iceland, neglected to mention in his novel.

BBC: An Icelandic journey to the centre of the earth

He splashed over to the foot of the stairs and looked up at a ladder of water coming down, a scrim of ice on the edges like a mountain stream.

NEWYORKER: Idols

Five of them were swept down the mountain and engulfed by ice and snow.

BBC: Glencoe avalanche: Three victims named

When, in mid-afternoon, the sun dips behind the mountain and my skis suddenly criss-cross ice-blue shadows, I am reminded of the more sinister snippets of local folklore my hosts have passed on: the wizard Fida, who lived in a cave above the valley and sold his soul to the devil, and the evil little spirits, parkeljni, who rattle their chains as they lie in wait for naughty children.

BBC: Snowbound Slovenia

Roman emperors are supposed to have sent slaves to mountain tops to bring back fresh snow which was then flavoured and served as an early form of ice-cream.

BBC: CBBC Newsround | ICE-CREAM | The origin of ice-cream

Ice palaces have been a winter feature of Saranac Lake since 1898, fitting for a quaint mountain village where winter temperatures can plunge to minus 30 during cold snaps.

WSJ: NY inmates help build ice palace in Adirondacks