Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Piz Scerscen

About a million m³ of rock and ice fell from Piz Scerscen and ran some 5 km down the Tschierva Glacier.

Date2024-04-14
Volume> 1 million m³
Runout≈ 5 km

Early on 14 April 2024, more than a million m³ of rock and ice broke from the north face of Piz Scerscen (3,971 m) in the Bernina range. The mass fell onto the Tschierva Glacier and ran about 5 km down the valley.

No one was hurt. The event was recorded by seismometers across the Alps. According to the WSL it was the largest Swiss rock avalanche by volume since Randa in 1991.

Piz Bernina and Piz Scerscen in 2021, three years before the rock avalanche.
Piz Bernina and Piz Scerscen in 2021, three years before the rock avalanche. Tiia Monto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Piz Bernina, Piz Scerscen and Piz Roseg from the air, 1929–30. Photo: Walter Mittelholzer, ETH Library.
Piz Bernina, Piz Scerscen and Piz Roseg from the air, 1929–30. Photo: Walter Mittelholzer, ETH Library. Walter Mittelholzer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Glaciers

Sources

Sources

  1. Petley, D. (2024). A large rock avalanche on Piz Scerscen in Switzerland. The Landslide Blog, Eos. eos.org/thelandslideblog/piz-scerscen-1
  2. Huss, Linsbauer & Naegeli (2025). Swiss Glaciers. State, projections and significance. Swiss Academies Factsheets 20(2). doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14866776
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