Unfortunately, not much remains of the once proud Gamchi Glacier. The situation is developing as described in
Gamchi Glacier: What next?.
Accordingly, the following chapters also deal with topics from the field of geomorphology (land deformation, including erosion).
Southern part of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
On the right are the ice and avalanche cones at the foot of the east face of the Morgenhorn (3620 metres above sea level), and at the top left is the Gamchilücke (2836 metres above sea level).
Transition from the southern to the central part of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Orange dot: Lower end of the southern part of the Gamchi Glacier.
Green dot: Upper end of the middle section of the Gamchi Glacier.
Middle section of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Green dots: Area in which glacial ice can still be expected.
Red dots: Outline of a dead ice mass, which is expected to melt completely in the next 1-2 years.
Central part of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Yellow dot: Der 2024 erstmals sichtbare proglaziale See existiert immer noch.
Red dot: The cross-section of the erosion ditch has approximately doubled within a year.
Proglaccial lake in front of the central part of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Erosion ditches in front of the central part of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Northern part of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
In the northern part, the glacier has receded to an altitude of approximately 2350 metres above sea level.
Yellow dots: Area in which glacial ice can still be expected.
Orange dots: Breakup of the Morgenhorn Glacier (now: Morgehorn Glacier), which supplies ice to the northern part of the Gamchi Glacier.
Morgenhorn hanging glacier, photographed from the Steineberg region (Kiental). Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Vom Hängegletscher am Morgenhorn (Neu: Morgehorn) stürzten am 31. August 2025 kein Eisbrocken in die Tiefe.
Collapse of the Morgenhorn Glacier near the Blüemlisalp Saddle. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Coming from Blüemlisalpsattel (3,118 metres above sea level), we did not observe any ice falls on 31 August 2025.
Upper part of the striking ridge between the central and northern parts of the Gamchi Glacier. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Red dots: As was the case a few years ago, two patches of bare ice can be seen on the southern flank. This indicates that the distinctive ridge is partly made of ice.
Upper bare ice area. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Lower bare ice area. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Before the glacial lake was formed, the entire life cycle of which can be traced on this website, an ice surface appeared in the lower part of the ridge beneath the debris. This ice surface looked roughly like the one shown in the photo.
The erosion ditch that formed in the area of the former glacial lake has grown significantly within a year. The largest landslides are likely to have occurred during a heavy rainfall event on 16 August 2025.
Erosion ditch in the area of the former lake. Direction of water flow: from left to right. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Erosion ditch above the former lake. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
The cross-section has more than doubled in this area within a year.
Upper part of the erosion ditch. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Outcrop at the beginning of the erosion ditch. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
The start of the erosion ditch has shifted further upwards. A specially shaped outcrop appeared beneath the washed-away debris.
Lower part of the erosion ditch that has existed since 2022. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
The cross-section in this area is approximately twice as large as it was a year ago.
View of the erosion ditch at the former glacial lake from the north. Photo taken on 31 August 2025.
Our
Location 22 was/is located at the
red dot. For safety reasons, we did not return to this point. We only saw the situation shown in the photo on our return march. For the same reason, location 31 had to be abandoned.
Detail from the wall below location 22. Photo taken on August 31, 2025.
Above the light gray area, water reaches the surface and transforms the moraine material into a muddy mass that flows and/or falls downward.