Navigation

Mountain near collapse on Europe’s biggest glacier

A big rock looks set to come down on the Aletsch glacier in Valais. Geologists are alarmed, but no one can tell how and when exactly it will break. (RTS/swissinfo.ch)

This content was published on September 28, 2016

At 30km long, the Aletsch glacier is the largest in the Alps. It has shrunk significantly over the past decades as a result of global warming. In some places, where the glacier used to support the surrounding mountains, the ice has almost completely disappeared. This greatly increases the risk of rockslides.

Now geologists have discovered major cracks on one of the mountain faces. It is moving 20 centimetres every day. The experts don’t know how soon the mountain face will slide nor how exactly it will come down. The rockslide doesn’t pose an imminent threat to people, since no one lives inside the danger zone. Hiking routes have been closed off and marked with warning signs. 

According to Valais geologist Raphaël Mayoraz, the mountain rubble could form a dam between the glacier and the Valais. This could result in the formation of a lake, which could pose a potential threat to people.

Contributions under this article have been turned off. You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

Sort by

Change your password

Do you really want to delete your profile?

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

Weekly top stories

Keep up to date with the best stories from SWI swissinfo.ch on a range of topics, straight into your mailbox.

Weekly

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.