Snow supporting structures can be located at high altitudes, in permafrost terrain, where the presence of ground ice is possible. Damages to existing structures caused by rock fall and terrain creep have occurred in the Swiss Alps. As their name suggests, the function of snow supporting structures is to retain snow in the starting zone of avalanches. Damaged structures do not function satisfactorily and repairs are expensive. Until present, it was not known whether the structures induce any modifications to the thermal regime of the ground. If ice is present in the ground, warming could lead to slope instability and hence to the occurrence of damages to structures. The foundations of the structures are 4-6 m long, and penetrate the problematic 'active layer' of permafrost ground which can attain positive temperatures in summer and is often composed of unconsolidated sediments such as scree or glacial deposits in high alpine terrain. [...]