Losing stability-- that's bad news, largely because permafrost helps to stabilize the mountain rock. Over the past year, around a thousand rockfalls have been reported, says Krautblatter. Some popular hiking routes have already been closed and a dozen or so Alpine huts are subsiding. It could also be a problem for cable cars, because they are anchored in the rocks on the mountainside.



This is the Zugspitze. You get there by taking the cog wheel train to the cable car, or trying to drive to the cable car. If you drive, you park your Mercedes at the bottom and stand on the rear bumpers of Beetles and Porsches to help them with traction. At least that's what you did back in the '70s when I went skiing there. Hate to see it boil to death.