In the Alps, the melting of glaciers is revealing to archaeologists treasures buried for millennia. As Swiss glaciers have lost 20% of their volume in five years, archaeologists are examining mountain passes in search of ancient artifacts that the melting ice is gradually uncovering. The Alps are melting at a faster rate than almost anywhere else on Earth. As glaciers recede, they are revealing secrets buried for millennia, such as a recently discovered ski on the Barberine Pass in the Swiss canton of Valais. The wooden board, 91 centimeters long, was nestled between rocks at the edge of the ice. Three years ago, on the same pass, which reaches an altitude of 2,481 meters, archaeologist Romain Andenmatten had already found a similar board. Carbon dating showed the object dated back to the 5th century BCE. Its owner was likely crossing the Alps on what appeared to be a ski when he lost his balance. This year, could the researcher have discovered the other half of the pair? Between a winter with little snow and a summer marked by extreme heat waves, this year has been particularly destructive for Swiss glaciers. They have lost 20% of their volume in the last five years. At the current rate of global warming, 97% of the white giants of the Alps could disappear by 2100. This particularly alarming prediction is for the tens of millions of Europeans for whom ice constitutes a vital water reserve during dry years. The melting of glaciers, however, has an unexpected side effect: it brings surprises for archaeologists, who are uncovering an ever-growing treasure of tools, clothing, and human remains. Ice preserves organic materials—leather, wood, textiles, bones—which provide clues about human activity in the Alps over the past millennia. Finding leather shoes that protected their feet or wicker baskets made from linden bark that they carried into the mountains is "simply extraordinary," according to Regula Gubler, an archaeologist for the Swiss canton of Bern. Discoveries that are not anecdotal. At the tops of the mountains, the objects are numerous. A wooden bowl fragment dating back to the 5th millennium BCE, a birch bark quiver containing two flint arrowheads dating back approximately 2,800 years BCE, a 60-centimeter statue carved from larch: these discoveries challenge theories about the presence of ancient societies on the highest peaks. Far from being deserted areas, the frozen mountain passes were apparently frequented by hunters, shepherds, or merchants who transported barrels of wine on mules' backs. However, archaeologists must work in urgency: the thawed organic materials decompose quickly. Add to that the presence of treasure hunters who recover the precious remnants without authorization, and the combination seems explosive. The police in the canton of Valais have even seized a collection of 11,000 objects (primarily coins, tools, and decorative items) from an amateur metal detectorist. The Swiss glaciers have lost 20% of their volume in five years, a record for glaciologists. Romain Andenmatten has recently decided to return to the Restipass, at 2,626 meters in the Valais Alps. After taking winding roads and walking for two hours, he had a shock: at the top, the ice had almost disappeared. Two years earlier, a snow cover had covered the slope. "Previously, climate change may have occurred over several generations, or even a lifetime," he notes. "Today, we experience it almost daily." The expedition was not in vain: the archaeologist discovered two pieces of wood with smooth, square edges, which may come from an ancient tool. To try to determine where the next remnants might emerge, archaeologists are collaborating with environmental specialists. A religious object found at the top of a mountain could, for example, allow more to be learned about the first peoples to have crossed the Alps and their beliefs, specialists note. But for now, it will have to be content with a ski.