A loose rock hangs above the house of a retired couple in Rosenau/Hengstpass (Upper Austria). A rock blast expert would be able to remove the piece cheaply and relatively safely. A demo video of the Großglockner High Alpine Road shows how stone crushing could work with a special cartridge.
Daughter and son-in-law, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren care for Roswitha R. and Peter Sch. of Rosenau/Hengstpass great concerns. A loose boulder, about two by two meters in size, hangs – held only by a tree trunk – on a steep slope 100 meters above their house.
“One day this rock will come down”
The retired couple themselves are deeply concerned about the situation. “You live on a powder keg, a neighbor warned us,” says Peter Sch., who assumes an acute danger. He suspects that the piece could come loose in a violent storm and fall on his house. “The slope is extremely steep and slippery. At some point this rock will come down, the only question is when,” says Sch.
No expert assessment has yet taken place
In a “Krone” interview, Elisabeth Leitner, district governor in Kirchdorf, already promised to involve experts in the development of avalanches and torrents. Sch.: “We hope this will happen soon, because the rock threatens not only us, but also hikers and cyclists on a path that passes by us.”
Broken would be easy to remove
Jürgen Hoff (54), an expert in rock-breaking patterns at Nishiki Ultra Burst, explains that removing such a chunk in an exposed location is relatively safe. These produce a high gas pressure that bursts rocks without explosives.
“The effort for specialists is manageable: you drill three holes in the rock with the Hilti, insert cartridges and mechanically crack the object under pressure – at 4400 bar,” explains Hoff.
BB do it too
A safety distance of 30 meters would be sufficient, 30 gram cartridges are available for just under ten euros and there is no need to transport dangerous goods: “ÖBB and Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße AG appreciate that too, they are my customers.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
