To divide
Two huge rockfalls have occurred on the Matterhorn – one on the Swiss side and one on the Italian side. Mountaineers were also surprised by a rockfall on the north face of the Eiger.
Zermatt/Breuil-Cervina/Grindelwald – The Matterhorn, with its characteristic rocky needle and its height of 4,478 meters, is probably the most impressive and best-known mountain in the Alps. On the north side is the sophisticated Swiss winter sports resort of Zermatt, on the south side is the Italian mountaineering paradise of Breuil-Cervinia.
There have been two rockfalls on the Matterhorn. © IMAGO/Cavan Images
Huge rocks fell before the eyes of mountaineers
Large rockfalls fell on both sides last Sunday. Mountaineers on the south side filmed how the rock masses thundered into the depths in a great cloud of dust. A little later, a rockslide also occurred on the north side. From what we know so far, no one was injured.
In mid-July, the main route to the Matterhorn via the Hörnligrat was closed after a rockfall a thousand meters below the summit of Zermatt. 1,000 cubic meters of rock were lost. According to FAZ, in high season, 150 climbers climb the rock pyramid every day when the weather is good.
The rockfall not only alarmed mountain guides in Valais, who had to rescue several rope teams with helicopters, but also caused a stir throughout Swiss tourism. There was also a major collapse of the Upper Grindelwald glacier, which even temporarily dammed a river.
On the Eiger, a rope team is surprised by a rock fall during the climb
Earlier this week, a rope team was surprised by a rockfall while climbing the famous north face of the Eiger. “At Direttissima Ghilini-Piola, the huge rock pillar at pitch 22 probably collapsed and destroyed the entire part of the wall below,” German extreme climber Robert Jasper reported on Instagram three days ago. The new Renaissance Route is also affected. Mountaineers should avoid the area for now.
Experts blame melting mountain ice, even on the highest peaks. “The extremely high temperatures during this period, even at altitude (the freezing point at almost 5,000 meters), are increasingly weakening the permafrost and therefore the stability of the rock plates”, explains the portal ildolomiti.it.
Four days of melting at more than 4,500 meters altitude
Tornado Italia became more precise on Monday: “Yesterday, for example, at the Capanna Margherita meteorological station (4560 m) the temperature reached 10.0 degrees, a value that is very close to the record of 10.2 degrees June 2019”. before Temperatures at the Doufourspitze meteorological station, adjacent to the Matterhorn, did not drop below freezing for four days and 17 hours, “an unprecedented event”, it is said.
Mirko Demozzi, president of the Geological Society of Trentino-South Tyrol, explains to ildolomiti.it: “Permafrost is nothing more than soil that is permanently frozen at altitude.” When temperatures rise due to climate change, which also leads to very sudden changes in certain altitudes, permafrost melts and water begins to flow.
Alpine geologists are more alarmed than ever
The rock that was once held together by this frozen part begins to crumble. “The problem today is the sharp rise in temperatures and climate change. What we are experiencing is affecting not only the glaciers, but also the ice on the ground, and that has never happened in the recent past.”
There has also been a large rockfall recently on the Sassolungo in the South Tyrol Dolomites, as well as on the Schiara and the Punte di Campiglio in the Brenta Dolomites. Meanwhile, in Italy, the Phlegrean Fields supervolcano, near Naples, is causing a stir: the earth is now shaking beneath its most famous crater, Solfatara. Residents have been making disturbing observations for weeks.