Swiss singer performs inside Morteratsch glacier cave before it melts away forever
A breathtaking performance by singer To Athena highlights the quickly melting Morteratsch glacier in southeastern Switzerland and accelerating ice loss due to climate change.
A breathtaking performance by singer To Athena highlights the rapidly melting Morteratsch glacier in southeastern Switzerland and the accelerating ice loss driven by climate change.
A Swiss singer-songwriter performed inside a cave carved into a retreating Alpine glacier, using music to spotlight the rapid disappearance of Switzerland's mountain ice.
Singer To Athena, accompanied by a small ensemble of musicians, staged the performance inside a glacial cave on the Morteratsch glacier in southeastern Switzerland on March 25. The group hiked through the snow before sunrise, instruments in hand, to reach the cave in time for filming. The performance was captured for a music video of her song "Collide," organized in collaboration with Greenpeace Switzerland.
The Morteratsch glacier, located near the resort town of Pontresina in the canton of Graubünden, has been shrinking for decades. Scientists estimate it is retreating by roughly 50 meters (about 164 feet) per year, with meltwater steadily carving tunnels and caverns into the ice from within.
The Morteratsch glacier, visible in this image acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on July 22, 2022, is receding at an alarming rate of about 5 centimetres per day. (Image credit: European Union, Copernicus)
According to the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program, the glacier has at times been receding at roughly 5 centimeters (2 inches) per day, driven in part by repeated and intense heat waves that strip away the snowpack and leave glacial ice directly exposed to the sun.
To Athena described the experience as overwhelming.
"We were blown away when we actually saw how beautiful this nature can be," she said. "We're so grateful we were able to experience this magical place before it has vanished."
Swiss glaciologist Giovanni Kappenberger, who was present at the site, said the cave is a stark symbol of accelerating ice loss.
Singer To Athena performs in the Morteratsch glacier in southeastern Switzerland in March 2026. (Image: Greenpeace via Reuters)
"The more meltwater there is, the more caves form, and the faster the glacier disappears," he said.
Kappenberger added that the cave is unlikely to survive another summer. He noted that the glacier is losing at least 10 meters of ice from above annually, while warm air flowing through in summer simultaneously melts it from below.
"That's why it will be gone," he said.
Copernicus notes that the Alps are especially vulnerable to climate change due to their relatively low ice cover. Environmental groups, including Greenpeace Switzerland, warn that many Swiss glaciers could vanish entirely within decades if global temperatures continue to climb.
Report a Typo
