Swiss Alps less than rock-solid

This makes it all the more surprising that the authorities in Grisons have no intention of giving up on Brienz-Brinzauls. They are doing everything they can to ensure that the hamlet remains habitable in the long term. Some 40 million Swiss francs worth of drainage tunnels and holes have been earmarked to improve stability underfoot. Both Grisons and the federal government are bankrolling the project, which might allow residents to stay put.

We regard the Alps as a place of refuge as well as natural beauty – provided we can live there.

Landslides in Switzerland like the one in Brienz-Brinzauls almost always attract a lot of attention. They have become more frequent in recent years as global warming compromises the geological stability of our Alpine landscapes. Each new incidence is now a media event in itself.

The Alps as an indomitable fortress and a place of refuge

Coverage naturally focuses on the circumstances of each landslide. But the sight of a mountainside crumbling before our eyes also has an acute emotional impact. The reasons for this are historical. Switzerland’s redoubt strategy during the Second World War cemented the legend of the Alps as an indomitable fortress and symbol of national resistance. If Hitler’s troops had invaded, our government and military commanders would have withdrawn to a network of hidden bunkers in the mountains, from where they would have coordinated the country’s defence. Since then, we have regarded the Alps as a place of refuge as well as natural beauty – provided we can live there and still protect ourselves, our homes and our transport infrastructure. Suddenly, the mountains are moving more than they used to. And not only in BrienzBrinzauls. They have become less predictable. Must we reassess our relationship with them?

Geological processes “at a tipping point”

Flavio Anselmetti, professor of geology at the University of Bern, says two separate things are taking place here that are commonly intertwined. “Firstly, mountain ranges like the Alps are constantly being pulled, pushed and contorted. Landslides and rockslides are perfectly normal in view of these geological forces,” he tells us.

Secondly, the parameters are now changing as a result of global warming. The Earth has a long history of alternating naturally between warmer and colder periods. However, the current era is unusual in terms of how quickly temperatures are rising this time.

We no longer rely on fate. Whereas the famous landslides of the past often ended in tragedy, we are much more likely now to get a handle on events before they occur.

And nature is trying to regain its balance amid the tumult, Anselmetti continues. Geological processes that would otherwise be considered normal in the Alps are, in his words, “at a tipping point” because of how quickly the Earth is heating up. Permafrost degradation represents the clearest example. Permafrost is soil and rocky material that stays frozen continuously. In the Alps, it tends to be found above 2,500 metres. Climate change is causing permafrost to thaw more often and for longer periods every summer. Permafrost is the “glue” that helps hold mountain faces together at high altitudes. When it melts, the risk of sudden rockfall increases.

Then again, we should try not to oversimplify matters and claim that every landslide or rockfall is a result of global warming, he adds. Or that climate change means the risks have automatically become greater.

For instance, scientists have known about and been keeping a close eye on the unstable slope above Brienz-Brinzauls for decades. The hamlet is situated at a relatively low altitude, and no direct link can be made to the rise in temperatures. Yet mountainside degradation in other circumstances could well accelerate if, say, climate change leads to an increase in heavy rainfall events. Or if protective forest is thinned out because certain tree species are unable to cope with a proliferation of droughts.

Some 75 years later, churchgoers attending their September morning Sunday service in the village of Elm heard the sound of rockfall from the nearby mountain, which was being quarried for slate at the time. Unperturbed, the congregation carried on as normal. In fact, some locals even ventured up the slope later to get a better view. An avalanche of rock slid into the valley that afternoon. Over 100 inhabitants perished.

Goldau and Elm were unavoidable disasters, people said at the time. A God-fearing public mistrusted the fact-based approach to preventing further tragedies.

Spirit of solidarity

But what the major landslides of the 19th century did bring about was a feeling of national solidarity. After the Goldau disaster, there was a countrywide fundraising push – the first of its kind – to help the village get back on its feet. This and other similar humanitarian campaigns uniting the different regions of the country were subsequently “touted as being very Swiss”, according to Christian Pfister, professor emeritus in environmental history at the University of Bern. They helped Switzerland develop its own particular identity and point of difference from other nations, he writes. In neighbouring countries, the catalyst for uniting people was war.

This spirit of solidarity has persisted up to the present day. Following each of the three major Swiss landslides of the 20th and 21st centuries – Randa in 1991, Gondo in 2000, and Bondo (where residents were evacuated in time) in 2017 – the relevant member of the Federal Council visited the disaster area in person.

The message? That the entire country stood shoulder to shoulder with those affected. But there was also a subtext: we will do everything in our power to defy the mountains. When landslides occur or threaten to occur, Switzerland will not simply give up the fight – not even if global warming makes things more complicated.

Dodging the rockfalls

Since Goldau in 1806, giving up on landslide-endangered or landslide-affected settlements has never been an option. It has always been about protecting these hotspots more effectively. “Take Brienz-Brinzauls, where they pulled off a quite stunning feat,” says Flavio Anselmetti. In a complex geological environment, they managed to predict the danger correctly and evacuate the village “at just the right time before the event actually occurred”. You cannot really do a better job than that. But it is not always such plain sailing. Professional mountaineer Roger Schäli knows what it feels like to have rocks falling around him. He has scaled the north face of the Eiger well over 50 times, often via the original route that traverses the infamous “White Spider” – a snowfield that now melts completely in summer. “Rising temperatures have taken an unbelievable toll on the Eiger,” he says. “A lot more melted ice runs down the north face. Rockfalls are more serious and more frequent. You are protected to a certain extent during the steepest parts of the ascent, because the rocks simply fly over your head.” Nowadays, the classic route up the north face is only really possible in winter when the weather is freezing.

The problems that a professional like Schäli has encountered can also be an issue for amateurs and tourists. The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) manages 153 mountain huts in Switzerland, many of which are potentially at risk from global warming. In 2021, for the first time ever, the SAC closed a hut, the Mutthornhütte on the Kanderfirn glacier, due to an acute risk of rockfall. It intends to rebuild the hut in a safe location. The new structure will cost 3.5 million francs.

Defying the mountains can be a costly business.