Only just missed

“And then the dust came along”

The dust avalanche passed right by the guest garden of the Stockeralm hut in Neukirchen am Großvenediger.(Bild: FF Neukirchen/Großvenediger)

Hut manager Gotthard Kaiser is in good spirits again after the huge rockslide in Neukirchen in Salzburg. The debris only just missed the Stockeralm.

"It cracked and then the dust came anyway", reports hut warden Kaiser about the dramatic rockfall on Wednesday evening in the Untersulzbachtal valley in Neukirchen am Großvenediger. The huge masses of rock only just missed the Stockeralm. The mountain hut and its visitors remained unharmed. The Neukirchen fire department reports that the hut and guests were only "dusted". 

Hüttenwirt Kaiser had to clear the hut and its surroundings of dust from the rockslide.(Bild: FF Neukirchen/Großvenediger, Krone KREATIV)

In an interview with the "Krone" on Thursday morning, hut landlord Kaiser is already in good spirits again: "Today everything is white from the dust. But I've already blown most of it away. The tables have been wiped clean and the first guests are already back. The rock is all up by the cliff. Everything went well."

The day after the rockslide at the Stockeralm, Kaiser was already welcoming guests again.(Bild: FF Neukirchen/Großvenediger)

State geologist will inspect the rockslide
The fire department was alerted by the mayor of Neukirchen after the head of the village received a call about the rockfall. Provincial geologist Gerald Valentin is expected to investigate the exact background to the rockfall during an on-site inspection.

One thing is certain: it was not the first rockfall in the Stockeralm area. Rock came down the mountain eight years ago. "But there was a lot more back then. But nothing happened then either," says Kaiser.