ALTHOUGH CLIMATE CHANGE INCREASES ANNUAL temperatures on average globally, it does not increase them everywhere to the same degree. High mountains are one of the ecosystems that are facing the greatest escalation in temperatures, which directly affects glaciers. Glacial melt in high mountains has already globally contributed 28 percent of the water in rising sea levels, and glacial loss in the high mountains is accelerating in many regions (Pachauri and Reisinger 2007; Thompson 2010).
This chapter examines a complex scenario in which indigenous practices are deeply entangled and copresent with Catholicism at a pilgrimage to a Christian shrine that is…