A massive 1.7-ton log from a mature Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra, locally “Zirbe”) was unearthed in the glacier’s retreat zone at ~2,060 meters elevation.

Radiocarbon dating places it at approximately 6,000 years old (mid-Holocene, around 4000 BCE).

A German-language Report24news video features Dr. Johannes Steiner discussing the find: today, stone pines of this size cannot grow at that altitude because the climate is too cold for them to thrive and reach maturity there.

The implication is that local temperatures in the Alps were warmer ~6,000 years ago, allowing the tree to grow before being entombed by later ice advance.

Paleoclimate records from the Alps show higher tree lines and smaller glaciers during parts of the early-to-mid Holocene (roughly 10,000–5,000 years ago).

Multiple subfossil wood finds (including Pinus cembra and larch) from Pasterze and other Alpine glacier forefields confirm the glacier was smaller or absent at lower elevations during warmer intervals.

• Tree-line evidence: Alpine tree lines were often 100–300+ meters higher than today during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (~7,000–5,000 years ago). This points to summer temperatures 1–3°C warmer in many reconstructions.
• Glacier history: The Pasterze itself had periods of reduced extent between ~8,100–6,900 BCE and later in the mid-Holocene, with wood and peat emerging from meltwater streams. Similar “inconvenient” finds include a ~10,800-year-old larch trunk from Switzerland’s Morteratsch Glacier.
• Broader European picture: Proxy data (tree rings, pollen, ice cores, chironomids) indicate the mid-Holocene in the Alps and much of Europe was warmer and often wetter than the late Holocene baseline, driven by natural orbital changes (higher Northern Hemisphere summer insolation from Milankovitch cycles). A 2025 study of 7,437 Alpine tree-ring oxygen isotopes confirmed a long-term drying trend over the Holocene but noted warmer + wetter early-to-mid conditions pre-industrially.

These warm phases align with the Holocene Climatic Optimum, when many Northern Hemisphere mid-to-high latitude regions were as warm as or warmer than pre-industrial levels regionally. (Global averages are debated due to lingering ice sheets early on, but the Alpine signal is clear.)

In the German-language interview, Dr. Johannes Steiner (referred to as DI Dr. Martin Steiner in the original Report24 piece) discusses the 2014 discovery at Austria’s Pasterze Glacier (Hohe Tauern):

• A massive Swiss stone pine (Zirbe / Pinus cembra) log weighing 1.7 tons was found in the glacier’s retreat zone at ~2,060 m elevation.
• Radiocarbon dating puts it at approximately 6,000 years old (mid-Holocene).
• Key point emphasized: Today, stone pines of this size and maturity cannot grow at that altitude because it is too cold. Therefore, when the tree lived and grew there ~6,000 years ago, local temperatures in the Alps must have been noticeably warmer than at present.

Steiner uses this to argue that natural climate variability was significant in the past, with warmer periods occurring without human CO₂ emissions. He also notes that historical cold periods were generally more damaging to societies (famines, crop failures) than warm ones, and questions the framing of current warming as an unprecedented “catastrophe.”

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An Inconvenient Tree: Uncovered In Alps… Europe Much Warmer Than Today 6000 Years Ago

From No Trick Zone

By P Gosselin

Growing climate skepticism in Europe… An inconvenient tree found in the Alps shows climate was warmer 6000 years ago. 

A recent video from the German language channel Report24news features Dr. Johannes Steiner, who discusses the discovery of ancient biological material (a large tree log) under retreating glaciers and its implications for the current climate narrative.

In 2014, a massive Swiss stone pine (Zirbe) log weighing 1.7 tons was found in the retreat area of the Pasterze glacier at an altitude of 2,060 meters [03:16]. The tree from which the log originates is dated to be 6,000 years old.

Dr. Steiner points out that no trees of this size can grow at that altitude today because it is currently just too cold [03:27], suggesting that 6,000 years ago, temperatures in the Alps were significantly warmer than now [07:07]. That’s evidence that climate alarmists would prefer to censor.

Natural climate cycles

The presence of such biological material is undeniable evidence that glaciers have historically expanded and retreated in natural cycles long before industrial CO2 emissions [04:10].

Dr. Steiner argues against the “climate catastrophe” label for warming, asserting that historically, “cold periods” were the true catastrophes marked by famine, while “warm periods” (like the Medieval Warm Period) facilitated cultural and biological growth where scoieties flourished [05:40].

While acknowledging CO2 is a greenhouse gas, Dr. Steiner claims its contribution to global warming is minimal compared to water vapor, which is accepted by scienitsts as the dominant and necessary greenhouse gas for a habitable planet [10:41].

The video argues that the current focus on CO2 is mostly a “political-medial” construct used by the state to justify higher taxes and to “squeeze” citizens [22:08].

Over 50% believe climate change driven naturally

Moreover, Dr. Steiner references a February 2025 Special Eurobarometer (557), noting a shift in public perception. He claims that in several EU countries (e.g., Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland), over 50% of people now believe climate change is driven by natural causes rather than human activity [16:26].

In Austria, the percentage of people attributing climate change to natural causes has reportedly risen by 13% since 2021, reaching 43% [16:44].

The discussion concludes with a critique of rising energy costs and taxes. They argue that climate-related taxes disproportionately hurt the financially weak, while politicians remain unaffected by high fuel prices [23:03].