{"id":118203,"date":"2026-08-20T22:22:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/118203\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T22:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:22:30","slug":"looming-rock-collapse-threatens-swiss-village-amid-destabilizing-alps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/118203\/","title":{"rendered":"Looming rock collapse threatens Swiss village amid destabilizing Alps"},"content":{"rendered":"

By HERN\u00c1N MU\u00d1OZ<\/p>\n

KANDERSTEG, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 An unstable mountain rock formation looming above the Swiss village of Kandersteg threatens a landslide that could rival the disaster that destroyed nearby Blatten<\/a> last year, a collapse scientists linked to thawing permafrost and glacier dynamics.<\/p>\n

The 1,300 residents of Kandersteg, in Switzerland\u2019s Bern canton, live amid a quintessential Alpine landscape of sharp peaks, white glaciers, steep green valleys and the distant sound of cowbells.<\/p>\n

But a catastrophe looms over the quiet village: a mountainside rock formation called Spitze Stei, part of a mountain landscape increasingly affected by thawing permafrost, threatens to collapse into the valley in a massive landslide.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are aware that it\u2019s happening, but not afraid,\u201d said Brigitte J\u00fcni, an inhabitant of Kandersteg. She said authorities took all the precautions they could.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then it\u2019s nature. It\u2019s nature and you never know,\u201d J\u00fcni added.<\/p>\n

As glaciers and permafrost \u2014 the frozen soil sediment and rock that acts like a glue holding mountains together \u2014 melt due to higher temperatures caused by climate change, the threat of landslides is rising in the Swiss Alps.<\/p>\n

In May 2025, a huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down the mountainside in the nearby Loetschental valley, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of Blatten, which had been evacuated earlier as a precaution.<\/p>\n

Markus Stoffel, professor for climate change and natural risks at the University of Geneva, said climate change leads to the melting of both glaciers and permafrost.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the mountains and in the unconsolidated debris, there is lots of ice,\u201d Stoffel said. \u201cOnce this ice is melting, it acts like a cement. These mountain slopes will become increasingly unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tourists<\/p>\n

Tourists gather at the Oeschinensee lake near Kandersteg, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hernan Munoz)\n<\/p>\n

\"Glacier<\/p>\n

Glacier on top of Blueemlisalphorn peak seen near Kandersteg, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hernan Munoz)\n<\/p>\n

\"Streams<\/p>\n

Streams of water from melting glaciers feeding Oeschinensee lake near Kandersteg, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hernan Munoz)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The \u201cSpitze Stei\u201d rock massive with the Bluemlisalphorn peak in the background seen over the Oeschinensee near Kandersteg, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hernan Munoz)\n<\/p>\n

\"Areal<\/p>\n

Areal view of the village center of Kandersteg, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hernan Munoz)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

Tourists gather at the Oeschinensee lake near Kandersteg, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hernan Munoz)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Locals in Kandersteg say their situation is different from Blatten and that preparations made already allow them to live calmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t the same case as in Blatten. It\u2019s a different situation,\u201d said local resident Rudolf Isler. \u201cWe are not afraid of the Spitze Stei rock. It\u2019s been many years seeing stones falling from up there. The problem here is about global warming and rising temperatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the entire unstable section of the Spitze Stei \u2014 estimated at roughly 15\u201320 million cubic meters \u2014 were to collapse, it would trigger a massive natural disaster. But the rock is under constant monitoring, evacuation plans are prepared and experts say the rock is more likely to break down gradually than in one huge chunk.<\/p>\n

Nathan Solothurnmann, a climate and energy expert for Greenpeace Switzerland, says that climate change means landslides or avalanches will become more common.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe even one day we will have to abandon certain valleys or certain villages because it\u2019s becoming impossible to live there,\u201d Solothurnmann said. \u201cOr the measure you will need to take to protect infrastructure is so expensive, the efforts are so big, that it\u2019s not worthwhile anymore living there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By HERN\u00c1N MU\u00d1OZ KANDERSTEG, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 An unstable mountain rock formation looming above the Swiss village of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[799,51478,458,57438,17],"class_list":["post-118203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-climate-change","tag-glaciers-melting","tag-global-warming","tag-permafrost-melting","tag-switzerland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117130175972284976","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}