While the Ice Still Breathes

Proposal Project

Spending a year on the Mer de Glace, one month in each season, filmmaker and science communicator Huw James documents the life of one of Europe’s great glaciers while it still moves and breathes. While the Ice Still Breathes follows the glacier’s rhythm from winter’s snow fall to summer’s melt, revealing how it shapes weather, water, and life across the Alps. Joined by scientists and adventurers, Huw explores how ice lives, melts, and connects us all. Through cinematic visuals and grounded science, the series captures a fragile moment in time when the glacier still has stories left to tell.

Overview

Glaciers are often described as dying, but for now, many are still alive. They breathe in snow, exhale meltwater, and pulse with a rhythm that shapes the world around them. While the Ice Still Breathes is a landmark documentary series that captures one glacier’s final years of movement, revealing what it means to live and work alongside a landscape that is both disappearing and alive.

Set on the Mer de Glace in the Mont Blanc Massif, the series follows science communicator and filmmaker Huw James through four seasons on the glacier. Each episode takes place in a different part of its life cycle, from the silence of winter to the roar of summer melt, and explores how scientists, mountaineers, and communities experience its changing pulse. Together, they uncover what the glacier can still teach us about time, resilience, and our connection to a warming planet.

The Mer de Glace is more than ice. It is a water source, a weather-maker, and a living archive that records centuries of change. Temperatures in the region have already risen by around 1.5 °C, and the glacier has retreated more than two kilometres since the 19th century. Yet even in decline, it remains an active part of Europe’s life support system. Studying how it moves, melts, and breathes helps us understand how mountains, rivers, and people across the world will respond to the changing climate.

While the Ice Still Breathes is a story about presence rather than loss. It is about witnessing the life that remains and learning from it while we still can. Told through breathtaking cinematography, adventure, and grounded science, the series shows that slow change is still change and that understanding the living ice is key to understanding ourselves.

We need this show because the story of glaciers is not over. For millions of people, they are still the source of fresh water, inspiration, and hope. By documenting a glacier that still moves, While the Ice Still Breathes invites us to look closely, listen carefully, and act while there is still time.

with Huw James

Huw James is an accomplished science communicator, captivating audiences worldwide with his unique blend of entertainment and education. With a career spanning over two decades, Huw has dedicated himself to making science accessible, engaging, and fun for people of all ages.

Beyond his live performances and media appearances, Huw is an advocate for science literacy and its role in addressing global challenges. He actively collaborates with scientific organisations and institutions, lending his expertise to initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between science and society.

Huw's passion for science communication knows no bounds. Whether he's hosting workshops, conducting experiments, or sharing captivating stories on stage, Huw James continues to be a driving force in inspiring people of all ages to embrace the wonders of science.

Film

FORMAT: 4 × 50 minutes
FILM TEAM: Science StoryLab (Dir. Huw James)
PARTNERS: Open to collaboration with outdoor, environmental, and technology brands
LOCATIONS: Mer de Glace and the Mont Blanc Massif, France

While the Ice Still Breathes is a four-part documentary series that captures the final living years of the Mer de Glace, one of Europe’s greatest glaciers. Across four seasons, the series reveals how this vast body of ice continues to breathe, move, and shape the world around it, even as the climate that sustains it changes beyond recognition.

Presented by Huw James, the series blends alpine adventure, field science, and cinematic storytelling to create an intimate portrait of a glacier still alive. Each episode follows a different part of its natural cycle. In winter, scientists study the formation of snow and ice deep beneath the surface. In spring, meltwater tunnels awaken and the glacier begins to shift. In summer, black carbon and rising temperatures accelerate its retreat, while in autumn, its final flows reveal the land it has carved for centuries.

The film’s visual style reflects the glacier’s rhythm. Drone and time-lapse photography trace its movement across the year, while macro and contact sound reveal its pulse and breath. Scientists, climbers, and guides appear as companions rather than subjects, showing how people and ice remain connected through shared endurance and respect.

While the Ice Still Breathes is a series about presence rather than loss. It shows that slow change is still change, that a glacier still moving is still living, and that understanding its rhythm can help us understand our own. This is a film about time, resilience, and the fragile beauty of a world that still breathes.

Series Concept

Across four seasons, Huw embeds himself on the glacier and welcomes two guests per episode:

  • A scientist, to explore a key glacier process or environmental theme.

  • An adventurer, to climb, ski, or explore the peaks and valleys connected to the ice.

Together, they merge discovery and experience - translating glaciology into adventure and data into story.

The Mer de Glace is filmed as a living system. It inhales snowfall, flows like a river, cracks like bone, and exhales meltwater. Each episode reveals a new dimension of that life cycle, building a complete portrait of one glacier’s year - and what it tells us about Earth’s future.

EPISODE 1 WINTER: THE BREATH BENEATH THE SNOW

Key Message: The glacier’s life begins with accumulation. Every flake of snow that falls holds the memory of the air it came from. Layer by layer, these snows compress into ice and begin the glacier’s long, slow movement downhill.

Key Adventure: Huw joins local guides to ski the Vallée Blanche, tracing the glacier’s surface from summit to valley. Along the descent, he measures snow density and studies how winter storms build the foundation for the year ahead.

Key Guest: A snow science expert from Université Savoie Mont Blanc reveals how snow crystals change under pressure, storing atmospheric history and setting the pace for the glacier’s future flow.

EPISODE 2 - SPRING: THE AWAKENING FLOW

Key Message: As temperatures rise, meltwater brings the glacier back to life. The movement of water through cracks and channels protects the ice beneath, cooling and reshaping it as the season turns.

Key Adventure: Huw and a team of mountaineers abseil into a crevasse to map meltwater pathways inside the glacier. Beneath the surface, they place temperature and flow sensors to trace where the water goes — and how it changes the glacier from within.

Key Guest: A meltwater hydrologist from CNRS Grenoble joins the expedition to explain how these subglacial rivers act as the glacier’s veins, connecting air, ice, and rock in a single living system.

EPISODE 3 - SUMMER: THE RACE TO MELT

Key Message: Summer exposes the glacier’s greatest vulnerability. Soot and dust darken its surface, reducing its ability to reflect sunlight and accelerating melt. What once accumulated over centuries can vanish in weeks.

Key Adventure: To understand where the glacier’s story begins, Huw and a team of alpinists climb Mont Blanc, tracing the journey of a snowflake from summit to glacier. From the peak, they witness how warming and pollution combine to alter the glacier’s balance.

Key Guest: A climate scientist studying the albedo effect joins the expedition, using spectrometers and drone imaging to measure how darkening ice absorbs more heat - a visible fingerprint of global change.

EPISODE 4 - AUTUMN: THE LONG EXHALE

Key Message: As meltwater slows and cold returns, the glacier exhales. Its surface reveals rock, soil, and silt - the geological footprint of its retreat. The landscape it leaves behind is not dead ground but the beginning of a new ecosystem.

Key Adventure: Huw and his team trek across newly exposed valleys and climb surrounding peaks, documenting how the glacier’s disappearance reshapes the terrain and the lives of those who depend on it.

Key Guest: A geomorphologist from Université de Lausanne studies the exposed valley, explaining how rock formations and sediment layers tell the story of the glacier’s past and hint at the landscape of its future.

Series Arc

Through four seasons and four scientific lenses, While the Ice Still Breathes reveals the heartbeat of a living glacier. From snow to water, soot to stone, each episode captures how the Mer de Glace changes - and how it changes us.

The Science

Glaciers are not frozen in place. They are living systems that flow, deform, and respond to the world around them. The Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France, has been retreating for almost two centuries, losing over two kilometres of length and tens of metres in depth. Yet it continues to move, to store water, and to record the atmosphere above it.

The science behind While the Ice Still Breathes focuses on this movement and the forces that drive it. Each episode explores a different part of the glacier’s life cycle, from the way snow compacts into ice to the release of meltwater that feeds the valley below. Working with scientists from Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS Grenoble, and local research teams, the production follows active studies in glacial flow, subglacial hydrology, ice chemistry, and atmospheric change.

Key topics include:

  • Snow and Ice Formation: How layers of snowfall compress and recrystallise to form glacial ice, trapping tiny bubbles of ancient air that act as climate records.

  • Hydrology and Outburst Lakes: How meltwater moves through hidden tunnels, creating seasonal floods and shaping the valley’s rivers.

  • Albedo and Black Carbon: How dark particles from pollution settle on the glacier, reducing reflectivity and accelerating melt.

  • Retreat and Geomorphology: How exposed rock, debris, and soil tell the story of the glacier’s past size and its influence on the landscape.

The film treats the glacier as a living indicator of Earth’s health. By documenting its changing breath through the seasons, the science reveals how air, water, and ice remain connected. What happens on the Mer de Glace mirrors the changes seen in glaciers from the Himalaya, the Andes, and the Arctic, helping scientists understand global water cycles and the pace of climate change.

While the Ice Still Breathes combines field observation with accessible explanation. Through patient imagery and clear storytelling, it transforms complex data into a visual narrative of life, loss, and resilience. The glacier becomes both a classroom and a character, showing how even in retreat, it continues to teach us how the planet breathes.

Collaborators

While the Ice Still Breathes brings together a unique collaboration of scientists, athletes, storytellers, and technologists who share one goal: to understand and communicate the life of the glacier before it disappears.

The series is produced by Science StoryLab, directed and presented by Huw James, whose work bridges scientific research and outdoor storytelling. Each episode features partnerships with world-class institutions and individuals working at the intersection of science, adventure, and climate communication.

Scientific Partners
Researchers from Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CREA Mt Blanc, and Université de Lausanne provide field access and expertise in glaciology, hydrology, and atmospheric science. Their ongoing studies on the Mer de Glace inform the film’s core scientific narrative and ensure every sequence reflects active research.

Adventure and Outdoor Partners
Professional climbers, guides, and athletes supported by Black Diamond and Protect Our Winters Europe join Huw on expeditions across the glacier. Their journeys translate the science into motion, connecting the academic and athletic worlds through shared respect for the mountains.

Technology and Imaging Partners
Collaboration with Sony and other imaging innovators allows the project to use advanced time-lapse, drone, and macro systems to record the glacier’s slow movement with cinematic precision. Each tool helps visualise processes that normally happen beyond human timescales.

Community and Cultural Partners
Local organisations in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, including guides, educators, and residents, contribute to the human side of the story. Their voices and experiences reflect how glacier retreat shapes daily life, from tourism and water supply to identity and tradition.

Together, these collaborators form a complete ecosystem of knowledge and experience. Scientists provide the data, athletes provide the motion, and storytellers provide the connection. The result is a living record of how people and ice continue to shape one another, captured before the glacier falls silent.

OTHER WORK

DOWNSTREAM

Downstream is a documentary film produced in collaboration with Protect Our Winters and Icebreaker. Our team at Science StoryLab handled the production, direction, filming, editing, and photography. The film explores the journey of water from glaciers to rivers, illustrating the impacts of climate change on these crucial ecosystems. It has been presented at venues like the EU Parliament, UNESCO, and the United Nations, and is Protect Our Winters Europe's flagship project for the International Year of Glaciers. We hope it contributes meaningfully to the conversation on climate action.