On a sunny midweek morning last month, the risk of an avalanche across a broad swath of the Swiss Alps was judged to be “considerable”, according to a daily bulletin issued by the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.
On that morning three skiers, including a 53-year-old Irishman, attempted to ski down the east face of the Six Noir at an altitude of 2,360 metres in the canton of Valais.
Typically for an east-facing slope slanting over 30 degrees, fresh snowfall, wind and temperature can lead to rapid changes in snow stability on the Six Noir, a hazardous, off-piste run requiring a high level of skill to negotiate.
Two days before, many avalanches, some large, were reported across Valais, often triggered by human activity, some remotely, in a chain reaction over long distances.
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Avalanche risk is often announced by a loud, hollow “whump” sound accompanied by the collapse of a weak layer of snow. Whumpfing, as it is known, had been heard frequently across the Swiss Alps that weekend. It usually means the snowpack is highly unstable.
The party of three skiers were aware of the risk because they were each carrying avalanche transceivers or beacons which are essential for locating someone buried alive under the snow.
The avalanche hit them shortly after noon and the Irishman was swept away. His two companions managed to locate him with the aid of the transceivers switched to search mode and called for help.
Trained first responders from the Valais rescue service were on the scene quickly with two helicopters from Air-Glaciers based in Sion, 30 kms away. He was resuscitated on the spot before being flown to Sion hospital where he died during the night of January 19-20th because of his injuries.
[ Irish skier dies of avalanche injuries sustained in SwitzerlandOpens in new window ]
Snow avalanches claim an average of 100 lives in Europe every year, according to the European Avalanche Warning Services. So far this ski season, the death toll has climbed to 60, including nine deaths in Switzerland during the month of January.
Suffocation is the biggest risk when a person is completely buried under snow, depending on the size of any air pocket. The chance of survival drops below 50 per cent within about 20 minutes unless the victim is quickly located and extricated. Other considerations are blunt trauma injuries and hypothermia.
Peter Vanovertveld, a 50-year-old Belgian former ski instructor living near Zurich, recalls his experience of being caught in an avalanche in 2020 while skiing on Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc.
“It was terrifying and humbling,” he says. “You realise it when the whole slope breaks and then it’s just pure survival instincts and you need to be very lucky. I was super equipped. I had the air bag and that definitely helps because the air bag is both a wing and, in case you get fully enclosed, it’s an extra air pocket that can help you.”
He did not lose his skis and, with the aid of the lift from an air bag, he managed to ski his way out of danger. On another occasion, he was caught in a smaller avalanche and succeeded in digging himself out.
Daire O’Connell, former chairman of the Irish Association of Snow-Sports Instructors, based in the Swiss ski resort of Engelberg, is trained to avoid avalanches.
“Group management is very important when skiing in avalanche terrain. You should not ski all together,” he says.
He links the high number of deaths in Switzerland during January with a very dry start to the month followed by heavy snowfall and the failure of different layers of snow to bind together, ideal conditions for slab avalanches.
John Harding, director of the UN’s Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative in Geneva, has a high opinion of the bulletins issued daily to skiers in France and Switzerland.
Harding skis with a light backpack containing a slender extendable snow probe, a transceiver in receive mode and an avalanche shovel. Depending on the avalanche bulletin and his knowledge of the terrain, he may or may not bring his air bag with him.
He says it is important for skiers to educate themselves about avalanche risk and to practice using the safety equipment. Anyone who is not an experienced guide should turn back when weather conditions start to change, he says.
Helicopters are a common sight during the ski season. Air-Glaciers has flown some 750 rescue missions over the past two months, the vast majority in response to accidents connected with regular snow sports activity.
The yearly Air-Glaciers Rescue Card covers the costs of emergency rescue and transportation if you are injured or in distress in the mountains, starting at €38 for an individual and €88 for a family.
For most skiers and families, however, the hope is not that rescue arrives quickly, but that it is never needed at all.
