Overview

• Nationalpark Berchtesgaden confirmed the collapse of the firn cave at the foot of the Watzmann East Face.
• Authorities issued urgent warnings about rockfall and further ice failure, advising visitors not to enter the remaining ice structures.
• Approaches to the Watzmann East Face are affected, disrupting access for hikers and climbers.
• Monitoring indicates the formation lost more than 575,000 cubic meters of firn ice since late 2019.
• Researchers had expected the feature to vanish, though experts were surprised by how early the collapse occurred.