Alpine Village Faces Potential Landslide as Permafrost Thaws

The mountain rock formation known as Spitze Stei looms over the Bern-canton village of Kandersteg, home to about 1,300 residents. Scientists warn that the unstable mass could collapse in a landslide comparable to the 2025 event that devastated nearby Blatten. Continuous monitoring is in place, and evacuation plans have been prepared, but experts say a gradual breakdown is more likely than a single massive failure.

Associated Press

Professor Markus Stoffel, a climate-change and natural-risk specialist at the University of Geneva, explains that rising temperatures melt both glaciers and permafrost—the frozen soil and rock that act as a natural cement. When that ice disappears, mountain slopes become increasingly prone to failure.

Associated Press

Residents express a mix of awareness and resignation. Rudolf Isler stresses that Kandersteg’s situation differs from Blatten’s evacuation, citing long-standing stone falls as part of daily life. Greenpeace Switzerland’s climate and energy expert Nathan Solothurnmann warns that continued warming could eventually force abandonment of vulnerable valleys.

Associated Press

• Estimated unstable volume of the Spitze Stei section: 15–20 million cubic meters.

Associated Press

• Population of Kandersteg: ? 1,300 residents.

Associated Press

• In May 2025, a massive rock-and-ice slide from a nearby glacier inundated Blatten, prompting a pre-emptive evacuation.

Associated Press

• “You are aware that it’s happening, but not afraid,” — Brigitte Jüni, an inhabitant of Kandersteg

Associated Press

• “But then it’s nature. It’s nature and you never know,” — Brigitte Jüni, an inhabitant of Kandersteg

Associated Press

• “In the mountains and in the unconsolidated debris, there is lots of ice,” — Markus Stoffel, professor for climate change and natural risks at the University of Geneva

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• “Maybe even one day we will have to abandon certain valleys or certain villages because it’s becoming impossible to live there,” — Nathan Solothurnmann, a climate and energy expert for Greenpeace Switzerland

Associated Press