The highest points in the accumulation area are at 3420 meters above sea level.

The glacier drains through the Gadmen valley and flows into the river Aare near Innertkirchen.

During the Little Ice Age around the middle of the 19th century, the Stein Glacier was 1 km longer than today.

During the retreat, the lake Steinsee formed after 1940 on the plain of the former glacier tongue at an altitude of 1934 meters.

The postglacial history of the glacier and the vegetation has been intensely studied with a multi-disciplinary approach.