This picture taken on August 6, 2022, above the resort of Les Diablerets shows hikers walking on the Tsanfleuron pass partially free of the ice that covered it for at least 2,000 years, behind blankets covering snow from the last winter season to prevent it. - The thick layer of ice that has covered a Swiss mountain pass between Scex Rouge glacier and Tsanfleuron glacier since at least the Roman era will have melted away completely within a few weeks, Glacier 3000 officials said on August 11, 2022. Following a dry winter, the summer heatwaves hitting Europe have been catastrophic for the Alpine glaciers, which have been melting at an accelerated rate. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

A pass in the Swiss Alps that has been completely ice-covered since at least Roman times is gradually being uncovered again. The Zanfleuron Pass in the Glacier 3000 ski area in Les Diablerets will be completely ice-free by the end of September, as those responsible for the ski area announced on Thursday.

The pass at an altitude of 2800 meters – after more than 2000 years under permanent ice – has already been partially uncovered.

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In 2012, an ice thickness of about 15 meters was measured at the site. But the summer of 2022, which followed a very dry winter, proved disastrous for glaciers, which were melting at an accelerated pace that year.

The melting of the glacier will also affect operations at the ski resort, as the once-icy pass between the Scex Rouge and Zanfleuron glaciers provided a link for skiers. Now a strip of earth separates the two glaciers.

The director of the Glacier 3000 cable cars, Bernhard Tschannen, explained that considerations were being made as to how the existing infrastructure could be adapted.