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Karakoram

The Karakoram has long been noted for an anomaly — glaciers that held stable or advanced while most of the world's retreated. That anomaly has weakened. Higher summer freezing levels mean liquid water now penetrates snowpack at altitudes where it previously did not, lubricating weak layers and accelerating serac instability. Climbers and expedition operators consistently report the same practical consequence: the seasonal window that used to feel reliable now shifts earlier and closes less predictably.

• Wind slab: high-altitude wind strips snow from exposed ridges and deposits dense slabs on lee slopes, often over weaker underlying snow.
• Depth hoar: large temperature gradients through a shallow snowpack grow angular, poorly bonded crystals near the base that can persist for weeks.
• Warm-layer weakness: a melt-freeze crust from an unusually warm spell creates a smooth sliding surface for everything deposited above it.
• Loading rate: it is the speed of new snow accumulation, more than the total, that determines whether a slope adjusts or fails.