Hotwater in a frozen frame - Alphubel south face, Switzerland

This drone shot was taken in August 2025 during our hot water drilling campaign on a small glacier in the south face of Alphubel (ca. 3800 m a.sl.). The survey took us two days, including a preparatory day where we build a platform on the almost 30-40 degree steep slope to secure the roughly half a ton of drilling equipment. The scenery from the glacier is absolutely majestic, overlooking the Mattertal, towards the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa and many more Swiss 4K peaks.

The drilling campaign aims on investigating the englacial tempearture of selected very small glaciers across the Swiss Alps to identify potential polythermal type glaciers. Polythermal glaciers are often more prone to develop hazardous preconditions due to meltwater accumulation, which can trigger water pocket outbursts or glacier avalanches.