Chacaltaya Glacier Ski Resort

Bolivians have enjoyed this resort in the heart of the Andes for over a century, and it is only a half-hour drive from La Paz, one of Bolivia's capital cities. It was a ski facility with only one mechanical lift built over a glacier known as Chacaltaya. In addition, there was a café and a tourist chalet. The mountain was popular with visitors all year. It was a popular pastime for the middle and upper classes, who spent their days there until the cold or pain in their ears forced them to return home.

Today, however, all that can be found in Chacaltaya are hazy memories and an abandoned building. Scientists began investigating the glacier in the 1990s. They anticipated in 2005 that it would be gone by 2015. But they were wrong: the last chunk of ice vanished in 2009, causing the glacier to melt permanently. Scientists assure us that the speed of its melting is a clear indicator of the climate change that the planet is suffering. Last week, the president of the United States announced his decision to pull his country out of the Paris Accord.

Opened: in the late 1930s

Location: Bolivia