TIP THURWIESER LANDSLIDE

Looking toward the summit of the Thurwieser Peak (3641 m) and immediately to the left of the trail up to the Quinto Alpini Refuge, we can see a large accumulation of dark-colored, metric-sized debris that partially fills what was once the valley of the Rio Marè stream.This large accumulation of rocks is related to a catastrophic event that occurred on Saturday, September 18, 2004.

A rock avalanche broke off from the south face of the Thurwieser Peak (Thurwieserspitze) involving the final part of the West Zebrù glacier (and to a small extent also the East Zebrù glacier) and the Rio Marè stream valley. The landslide reached up to an elevation of 2,240 m (just above the Shepherd's Hut) after traveling about 3 km.

A rock avalanche is characterized by a mass movement of rocky debris of varying sizes (from mm to tens of meters) that are triggered by a landslide or rockfall and can travel kilometer-long distances.

2.7 million cubic meters of rock precipitated in profoundly changing the landscape of this side of the Zebru Valley.

The causes of the landslide were essentially two:

1. The melting of the ice present in the rock fractures (permafrost), due to the increase in temperatures in recent years as a result of ongoing climate change.

2. The geological setting of the Thurwieser Peak, which is characterized by layers of dark carbonate rocks sloping toward the valley (with a geometry that geologists call a "landslide") that favored the rocks sliding toward the valley.