Deadliest ski season ever: 13 deaths in the Austrian Alps | abroad

Is the deadliest winter of all time upon us? This opportunity exists, because since November 2022, 13 people have died on Austrian ski slopes, 11 of them in Tyrol. A sad record in the ski world, because there weren’t many deaths.

“So far we have twice as many deaths on the slopes than in previous years,” chief inspector of Innsbruck Stefan Eder (50) told German newspaper BILD. “Since November 1, 2022, there have been 200 relief interventions on the slopes in Austria, including Including 100 serious injuries and 13 deaths.

look! The pictures show the moment when people are buried under the snow.

The first reason for the large number of deaths is the adverse weather conditions that cause an avalanche hazard. “In the ideal scenario, a lot of snow falls during a few parts of the year, which temporarily increases the risk of avalanches, but creates a well-layered snow cover in the long run,” said Rolf Westerhoff, founder of the Dutch Snow Safety Center. Back to “Latest News”.

This is now the case in large parts of Austria, Switzerland and part of France. The valleys are green, and the snow that has fallen above 2,000 meters has not been enough for months to ensure a good snow cover. Extremely poor snow quality has nothing to do with how nice the skier’s descent is or not. Due to the high temperature, snow and wind in the past few days, the bottom layer may break. As a result, avalanches can become larger than expected.

The Austrian Alpine Safety Authority (ÖKAS) says that in addition to adverse weather conditions, there is also a personal responsibility for skiers. “Many people are less good at winter sports after the corona years than before, there is a risk of being overconfident,” Peter Pal, ÖKAS president, tells BILD. “The best Formula 1 cars are useless if the driver is bad. And about skiing you have to say: The pilots got worse.

look! This is what you should do if you are caught in an avalanche

Andreas Valkes (59 years old), chief of the Alpine Police in Landeck (Austria), advises skiers to be more careful this year. Adjust your speed as well as your willingness to take risks. With such bad conditions on the ski slopes, caution is your main protection.

In some places in the Alps, temperatures are currently rising to 20.2 degrees and ski slopes are being closed en masse. Fortunately, Europe offers a number of good alternatives for avid skiers. This is how our travel expert Johan Lambrechts pointed it out Six destinations where skiing is still possible: Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Norway. These are places with a lot of snow and therefore safer this year in most cases.