Permafrost props up entire villages in the Alps
Deep beneath the scenic slopes of the Swiss Alps, a hidden network of frozen soil provides the structural glue that prevents mountain peaks from crumbling into inhabited valleys.
In the shadow of the Swiss Alps, the picturesque village of Brienz sits on ground that is physically changing beneath its feet. While we often view mountains as static monuments of solid rock, many Alpine slopes are actually held together by permafrost, a subsurface layer of soil and stone that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years. This subterranean ice acts as a high-altitude glue, cementing fractures and stabilizing steep inclines that have supported heavy infrastructure for centuries. When this internal temperature rises even slightly above freezing, the soil can lose up to 90 percent of its shear strength, turning a solid foundation into a sliding hazard.