diff --git a/config/config.azure.reference.hocon b/config/config.azure.reference.hocon
index a0800afe..526e9cda 100644
--- a/config/config.azure.reference.hocon
+++ b/config/config.azure.reference.hocon
@@ -86,6 +86,14 @@
     "alterTableWait": {
       "delay": "1 second"
     }
+
+    # -- Relevant when the BigQuery table is close to exceeding the limit on max allowed columns in a single table.
+    # -- The loader will ignore a failure to alter the table due to too many columns, and it will continue to run.
+    # -- Some events will inevitably go to the failed events output topic until new columns have been added.
+    # -- This param configures how often the loader will retry to alter the table after an earlier failure.
+    "tooManyColumns": {
+      "delay": "300 seconds"
+    }
   } 
   
   # -- Schemas that won't be loaded to BigQuery. Optional, default value []
diff --git a/config/config.kinesis.reference.hocon b/config/config.kinesis.reference.hocon
index 1e9b890a..c47abcf9 100644
--- a/config/config.kinesis.reference.hocon
+++ b/config/config.kinesis.reference.hocon
@@ -108,6 +108,14 @@
     "alterTableWait": {
       "delay": "1 second"
     }
+
+    # -- Relevant when the BigQuery table is close to exceeding the limit on max allowed columns in a single table.
+    # -- The loader will ignore a failure to alter the table due to too many columns, and it will continue to run.
+    # -- Some events will inevitably go to the failed events output topic until new columns have been added.
+    # -- This param configures how often the loader will retry to alter the table after an earlier failure.
+    "tooManyColumns": {
+      "delay": "300 seconds"
+    }
   } 
 
   # -- Schemas that won't be loaded to BigQuery. Optional, default value []
diff --git a/config/config.pubsub.reference.hocon b/config/config.pubsub.reference.hocon
index 1bd57717..993dbcda 100644
--- a/config/config.pubsub.reference.hocon
+++ b/config/config.pubsub.reference.hocon
@@ -88,6 +88,14 @@
     "alterTableWait": {
       "delay": "1 second"
     }
+
+    # -- Relevant when the BigQuery table is close to exceeding the limit on max allowed columns in a single table.
+    # -- The loader will ignore a failure to alter the table due to too many columns, and it will continue to run.
+    # -- Some events will inevitably go to the failed events output topic until new columns have been added.
+    # -- This param configures how often the loader will retry to alter the table after an earlier failure.
+    "tooManyColumns": {
+      "delay": "300 seconds"
+    }
   } 
 
   # -- Schemas that won't be loaded to BigQuery. Optional, default value []
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/modules/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 26bba26b..3f1e1475 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@
     "alterTableWait": {
       "delay": "1 second"
     }
+    "tooManyColumns": {
+      "delay": "300 seconds"
+    }
   }
   
   "skipSchemas": []
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Alert.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Alert.scala
index e36e3f4c..f8aaf034 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Alert.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Alert.scala
@@ -52,16 +52,26 @@ object Alert {
   }
 
   private implicit def throwableShow: Show[Throwable] = {
-    def go(acc: List[String], next: Throwable): String = {
-      val nextMessage = Option(next.getMessage)
-      val msgs        = nextMessage.filterNot(msg => acc.headOption.contains(msg)) ++: acc
+    def removeDuplicateMessages(in: List[String]): List[String] =
+      in match {
+        case h :: t :: rest =>
+          if (h.contains(t)) removeDuplicateMessages(h :: rest)
+          else if (t.contains(h)) removeDuplicateMessages(t :: rest)
+          else h :: removeDuplicateMessages(t :: rest)
+        case fewer => fewer
+      }
 
-      Option(next.getCause) match {
-        case Some(cause) => go(msgs, cause)
-        case None        => msgs.reverse.mkString(": ")
+    def accumulateMessages(t: Throwable): List[String] = {
+      val nextMessage = Option(t.getMessage)
+      Option(t.getCause) match {
+        case Some(cause) => nextMessage.toList ::: accumulateMessages(cause)
+        case None        => nextMessage.toList
       }
     }
 
-    Show.show(go(Nil, _))
+    Show.show { t =>
+      removeDuplicateMessages(accumulateMessages(t)).mkString(": ")
+    }
   }
+
 }
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Config.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Config.scala
index 738fb0f1..ebc75b53 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Config.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/Config.scala
@@ -86,11 +86,13 @@ object Config {
   case class SetupErrorRetries(delay: FiniteDuration)
   case class AlterTableWaitRetries(delay: FiniteDuration)
   case class TransientErrorRetries(delay: FiniteDuration, attempts: Int)
+  case class TooManyColumnsRetries(delay: FiniteDuration)
 
   case class Retries(
     setupErrors: SetupErrorRetries,
     transientErrors: TransientErrorRetries,
-    alterTableWait: AlterTableWaitRetries
+    alterTableWait: AlterTableWaitRetries,
+    tooManyColumns: TooManyColumnsRetries
   )
 
   implicit def decoder[Source: Decoder, Sink: Decoder]: Decoder[Config[Source, Sink]] = {
@@ -119,6 +121,7 @@ object Config {
     implicit val setupRetries       = deriveConfiguredDecoder[SetupErrorRetries]
     implicit val alterTableRetries  = deriveConfiguredDecoder[AlterTableWaitRetries]
     implicit val transientRetries   = deriveConfiguredDecoder[TransientErrorRetries]
+    implicit val tooManyColsRetries = deriveConfiguredDecoder[TooManyColumnsRetries]
     implicit val retriesDecoder     = deriveConfiguredDecoder[Retries]
 
     // TODO add bigquery docs
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryRetrying.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryRetrying.scala
index ff33a2b7..a3c2b7e7 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryRetrying.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryRetrying.scala
@@ -12,12 +12,14 @@ import cats.Applicative
 import cats.effect.Sync
 import cats.implicits._
 import com.google.api.gax.rpc.PermissionDeniedException
+import com.google.cloud.bigquery.BigQueryException
 import org.typelevel.log4cats.Logger
 import org.typelevel.log4cats.slf4j.Slf4jLogger
 import retry._
 import retry.implicits.retrySyntaxError
 
 import com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery.{Alert, AppHealth, Config, Monitoring}
+import com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery.processing.BigQueryUtils.BQExceptionSyntax
 
 object BigQueryRetrying {
 
@@ -54,7 +56,7 @@ object BigQueryRetrying {
       )
 
   private def isSetupError[F[_]: Sync](t: Throwable): F[Boolean] = t match {
-    case BigQueryUtils.BQExceptionWithLowerCaseReason("notfound" | "accessdenied") =>
+    case bqe: BigQueryException if Set("notfound", "accessdenied").contains(bqe.lowerCaseReason) =>
       true.pure[F]
     case _: PermissionDeniedException =>
       true.pure[F]
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQuerySchemaUtils.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQuerySchemaUtils.scala
index 8b06148a..4d90d2e9 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQuerySchemaUtils.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQuerySchemaUtils.scala
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ import scala.jdk.CollectionConverters._
 
 object BigQuerySchemaUtils {
 
-  def alterTableRequired(tableDescriptor: Descriptors.Descriptor, ddlFields: Seq[Field]): Boolean =
-    ddlFields.exists { field =>
+  def alterTableRequired(tableDescriptor: Descriptors.Descriptor, ddlFields: Seq[Field]): Seq[Field] =
+    ddlFields.filter { field =>
       Option(tableDescriptor.findFieldByName(field.name)) match {
         case Some(fieldDescriptor) =>
           val nullableMismatch = fieldDescriptor.isRequired && field.nullability.nullable
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ object BigQuerySchemaUtils {
       case Descriptors.FieldDescriptor.Type.MESSAGE =>
         ddlField.fieldType match {
           case Type.Struct(nestedFields) =>
-            alterTableRequired(tableField.getMessageType, nestedFields)
+            alterTableRequired(tableField.getMessageType, nestedFields).nonEmpty
           case _ =>
             false
         }
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryUtils.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryUtils.scala
index d37e7f0a..8bbe5897 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryUtils.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/BigQueryUtils.scala
@@ -35,13 +35,18 @@ object BigQueryUtils {
   def streamIdOf(config: Config.BigQuery): String =
     tableIdOf(config).getIAMResourceName + "/streams/_default"
 
-  object BQExceptionWithLowerCaseReason {
-    def unapply(bqe: BigQueryException): Option[(String)] =
-      Option(bqe.getError()) match {
-        case Some(bqError) =>
-          Some(bqError.getReason.toLowerCase)
-        case None =>
-          None
-      }
+  implicit class BQExceptionSyntax(val bqe: BigQueryException) extends AnyVal {
+    def lowerCaseReason: String =
+      Option(bqe.getError())
+        .flatMap(e => Option(e.getReason))
+        .map(_.toLowerCase)
+        .getOrElse("")
+
+    def lowerCaseMessage: String =
+      Option(bqe.getError())
+        .flatMap(e => Option(e.getReason))
+        .map(_.toLowerCase)
+        .getOrElse("")
+
   }
 }
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/Processing.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/Processing.scala
index f2269e88..f66da7e9 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/Processing.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/Processing.scala
@@ -297,8 +297,9 @@ object Processing {
           val fields = batch.entities.fields.flatMap { tte =>
             tte.mergedField :: tte.recoveries.map(_._2)
           }
-          if (BigQuerySchemaUtils.alterTableRequired(descriptor, fields)) {
-            env.tableManager.addColumns(fields) *> env.writer.closed.use_
+          val fieldsToAdd = BigQuerySchemaUtils.alterTableRequired(descriptor, fields)
+          if (fieldsToAdd.nonEmpty) {
+            env.tableManager.addColumns(fieldsToAdd.toVector) *> env.writer.closed.use_
           } else {
             Sync[F].unit
           }
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/TableManager.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/TableManager.scala
index cc6f65ce..0350f4dc 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/TableManager.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/TableManager.scala
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ package com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery.processing
 
 import cats.Show
 import cats.implicits._
-import cats.effect.{Async, Sync}
+import cats.effect.implicits._
+import cats.effect.{Async, Ref, Sync}
 import org.typelevel.log4cats.Logger
 import org.typelevel.log4cats.slf4j.Slf4jLogger
 import com.google.cloud.bigquery.{
@@ -25,10 +26,12 @@ import com.google.cloud.bigquery.{
   TimePartitioning
 }
 import com.google.auth.Credentials
+import com.google.cloud.bigquery.BigQueryException
 
 import com.snowplowanalytics.iglu.schemaddl.parquet.Field
 import com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.loaders.transform.AtomicFields
 import com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery.{Alert, AppHealth, Config, Monitoring}
+import com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery.processing.BigQueryUtils.BQExceptionSyntax
 
 import scala.jdk.CollectionConverters._
 
@@ -44,6 +47,12 @@ object TableManager {
 
   private implicit def logger[F[_]: Sync] = Slf4jLogger.getLogger[F]
 
+  private sealed trait AddColumnsResult
+  private object AddColumnsResult {
+    case object Success extends AddColumnsResult
+    case class TooManyColumnsInTable(t: Throwable) extends AddColumnsResult
+  }
+
   def make[F[_]: Async](
     config: Config.BigQuery,
     retries: Config.Retries,
@@ -53,20 +62,40 @@ object TableManager {
   ): F[TableManager[F]] =
     for {
       client <- Sync[F].delay(BigQueryOptions.newBuilder.setCredentials(credentials).build.getService)
-    } yield impl(config, retries, client, appHealth, monitoring)
+      addingColumnsEnabled <- Ref[F].of[Boolean](true)
+    } yield impl(config, retries, client, appHealth, monitoring, addingColumnsEnabled)
 
   private def impl[F[_]: Async](
     config: Config.BigQuery,
     retries: Config.Retries,
     client: BigQuery,
     appHealth: AppHealth[F],
-    monitoring: Monitoring[F]
+    monitoring: Monitoring[F],
+    addingColumnsEnabled: Ref[F, Boolean]
   ): TableManager[F] = new TableManager[F] {
 
     def addColumns(columns: Vector[Field]): F[Unit] =
-      BigQueryRetrying.withRetries(appHealth, retries, monitoring, Alert.FailedToAddColumns(columns.map(_.name), _)) {
-        Logger[F].info(s"Altering table to add columns [${showColumns(columns)}]") *>
-          addColumnsImpl(config, client, columns)
+      addingColumnsEnabled.get.flatMap {
+        case true =>
+          BigQueryRetrying
+            .withRetries(appHealth, retries, monitoring, Alert.FailedToAddColumns(columns.map(_.name), _)) {
+              Logger[F].info(s"Altering table to add columns [${showColumns(columns)}]") *>
+                addColumnsImpl(config, client, columns)
+            }
+            .flatMap {
+              case AddColumnsResult.TooManyColumnsInTable(t) =>
+                val enableAfterDelay = Async[F].sleep(retries.tooManyColumns.delay) *> addingColumnsEnabled.set(true)
+                for {
+                  _ <- Logger[F].error(t)(s"Could not alter table schema because of too many columns")
+                  _ <- monitoring.alert(Alert.FailedToAddColumns(columns.map(_.name), t))
+                  _ <- addingColumnsEnabled.set(false)
+                  _ <- enableAfterDelay.start
+                } yield ()
+              case _ =>
+                Async[F].unit
+            }
+        case false =>
+          Async[F].unit
       }
 
     def createTable: F[Unit] =
@@ -77,10 +106,10 @@ object TableManager {
             .blocking(client.create(tableInfo))
             .void
             .recoverWith {
-              case bqe @ BigQueryUtils.BQExceptionWithLowerCaseReason("duplicate") =>
+              case bqe: BigQueryException if bqe.lowerCaseReason === "duplicate" =>
                 // Table already exists
                 Logger[F].info(s"Ignoring error when creating table: ${bqe.getMessage}")
-              case BigQueryUtils.BQExceptionWithLowerCaseReason("accessdenied") =>
+              case bqe: BigQueryException if bqe.lowerCaseReason === "accessdenied" =>
                 Logger[F].info(s"Access denied when trying to create table. Will ignore error and assume table already exists.")
             }
       }
@@ -90,7 +119,7 @@ object TableManager {
     config: Config.BigQuery,
     client: BigQuery,
     columns: Vector[Field]
-  ): F[Unit] =
+  ): F[AddColumnsResult] =
     for {
       table <- Sync[F].blocking(client.getTable(config.dataset, config.table))
       schema <- Sync[F].pure(table.getDefinition[TableDefinition].getSchema)
@@ -98,21 +127,27 @@ object TableManager {
       fields <- Sync[F].pure(BigQuerySchemaUtils.mergeInColumns(fields, columns))
       schema <- Sync[F].pure(Schema.of(fields))
       table <- Sync[F].pure(setTableSchema(table, schema))
-      _ <- Sync[F]
-             .blocking(table.update())
-             .void
-             .onError(logOnRaceCondition)
-    } yield ()
+      result <- Sync[F]
+                  .blocking(table.update())
+                  .as[AddColumnsResult](AddColumnsResult.Success)
+                  .recover(handleTooManyColumns)
+                  .onError(logOnRaceCondition)
+    } yield result
 
   private def setTableSchema(table: Table, schema: Schema): Table =
     table.toBuilder().setDefinition(StandardTableDefinition.of(schema)).build()
 
   private def logOnRaceCondition[F[_]: Sync]: PartialFunction[Throwable, F[Unit]] = {
-    case BigQueryUtils.BQExceptionWithLowerCaseReason("invalid") =>
+    case bqe: BigQueryException if bqe.lowerCaseReason === "invalid" =>
       Logger[F].warn(s"Caught known exception which probably means another loader has already altered the table.")
     // Don't do anything else; the BigQueryRetrying will handle retries and logging the exception.
   }
 
+  private def handleTooManyColumns: PartialFunction[Throwable, AddColumnsResult] = {
+    case bqe: BigQueryException if bqe.lowerCaseReason === "invalid" && bqe.lowerCaseMessage.startsWith("too many columns") =>
+      AddColumnsResult.TooManyColumnsInTable(bqe)
+  }
+
   private def showColumns(columns: Vector[Field]): String =
     columns.map(_.name).mkString(", ")
 
diff --git a/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/MockEnvironment.scala b/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/MockEnvironment.scala
index 48a5ccba..c5b5cac9 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/MockEnvironment.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/MockEnvironment.scala
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ object MockEnvironment {
   def retriesConfig = Config.Retries(
     Config.SetupErrorRetries(30.seconds),
     Config.TransientErrorRetries(1.second, 5),
-    Config.AlterTableWaitRetries(1.second)
+    Config.AlterTableWaitRetries(1.second),
+    Config.TooManyColumnsRetries(300.seconds)
   )
 }
diff --git a/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/WriterProviderSpec.scala b/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/WriterProviderSpec.scala
index 122a1aad..4203dc72 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/WriterProviderSpec.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/test/scala/com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow.bigquery/processing/WriterProviderSpec.scala
@@ -318,7 +318,8 @@ object WriterProviderSpec {
   def retriesConfig = Config.Retries(
     Config.SetupErrorRetries(30.seconds),
     Config.TransientErrorRetries(1.second, 5),
-    Config.AlterTableWaitRetries(1.second)
+    Config.AlterTableWaitRetries(1.second),
+    Config.TooManyColumnsRetries(300.seconds)
   )
 
   def control: IO[Control] =