July 14, 2006 A chunk of rock weighing millions of tons broke away from one of Switzerland's most famous peaks, the 13,025-foot Eiger mountain, on Thursday. The resulting rock avalanche covered local Grindelwald resort in dust but caused no injuries, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
The avalanche dislodged some 20 million cubic feet of rock, falling hundreds of feet in a 15-minute display. The AP reported that the broken rock came to rest on the mountainside.
According to United Press International, Hans-Rudulf Keusen, a geologist who monitors the Bernese Alps for the Swiss government, indicated in the months prior that that slab would collapse because of the retreat of the Grindelwald glacier. This retreat is closely associated with global warming.
When Keusen first noticed the fissure in early June, the crack was only eight inches wide, but by the time of collapse it had widened to 16 feet, growing at a rate of 35 inches a day, as reported by the Times newspaper of London.
Tourists have been gathering in Grindelwald to witness the fall from the east face. The rockfall is Europe's largest in the last 15 years.
The Eiger's North Face, with a mile-high sheer wall rising to the 13,025-foot summit, is considered one of Europe's most daunting mountaineering challenges.
