A massive landslide occurred on Monte Rosa last weekend on the Italian side: local mountain rescuer Luca Tondat documented the trail of devastation left behind by the rock masses with drone footage. He uploaded parts of it to Instagram and Facebook.
It can be seen that in the southern summit area of the Dufourspitze (4,634 meters) a huge mass of rock has broken loose and rolled hundreds of meters down the valley below the famous Belvedere glacier. “It is a huge replacement that is still underway.” Fortunately, no one was hurt, probably because the rock fall must have happened at night. Nevertheless, Tondat warns: “Do not venture towards Alpe Pedriola in the next few days. The collapses continue!”
The rockfall also left its mark on the Zamboni Zappa Hut, which is fortunately closed during the winter months. “The dust cloud was so powerful that it reached the top of the ski slopes and settled there.” He cannot yet say how great the total extent of the damage is. The area can currently only be entered if life is at risk.
Local meteorologists see the reason for the rock fall in the “abnormal temperatures” and the associated small amounts of snow. It is also conceivable that the melting of the permafrost could have promoted the fall. This has now become a problem throughout the Alps. What the frost previously held together like glue is now melting away. This causes rock masses to become unstable.
There had already been a rock fall on Monte Rosa in the spring of 2024. Other peaks, such as the Ruhehorn in Austria, have already collapsed. In June 2023, a million cubic meters of rock and the summit cross had come loose.
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