Julie Wee

Geomorphologist, Co-founder Girls on Ice Suisse, Steering committee member

Growing up in Gruyère, at the foot of the Fribourg Prealps, the mountains were always in my sight. Since my childhood, I have explored them with my family during visits of mountain pastures where my grandfather had his cows and goats. Growing up with a geographer as a mom, allowed me to discover these environments through their different facets and to feed this fascination towards nature, landscapes and particularly mountains. Curious to understand the processes that shape these environments, I therefore decided to study geography at the University of Fribourg. My studies were punctuated by many field courses and field campaigns for which I worked as an undergraduate assistant. Being on the field allowed me to feed and sharpen my interest for alpine geomorphology.
In 2018, I graduated from the University of Fribourg with a master’s degree in alpine geomorphology and high mountain dynamics. In the wake of receiving my diploma, I pursued my scientific career by starting a PhD thesis (in 2019) on the dynamics of glacier forefields in mountain permafrost environments. In this project, I will attempt to understand how glaciers and frozen sediments have interacted and how these interactions have influenced the current dynamics of the latter.
Moreover, through a training to become a mountain leader that I will achieve in two years, I hope that I will acquire the tools to pass on my knowledge and passion that I have on mountains and alpine environments to the broader public.

Steering Committee Member Inspiring Girls* Expeditions 2020 - 2022

Co-founder Girls* on Ice Suisse

Instructor Girls* on Ice Suisse 2019, 2021, 2022

Instructor alternative program Girls* on Ice Switzerland 2020