The death toll so far this season from avalanches stands at 56 in France and Switzerland alone. At least five people have lost their lives in the Austrian Tyrol. One died while carrying out an official avalanche risk assessment.
Alpine sports are fun, but dangerous. The best conditions come with deep snow arriving regularly at low temperatures. That way it all compresses nicely and the snowpack remains stable. The worst conditions are a huge snowfall on top of an icy surface.
Near the end of the season, as spring approaches, it is more and more likely that temperatures will rise above freezing by day and fall below by night, forming an icy, slippery crust. If it then snows, as is now happening on many alpine slopes in both Europe and Japan, that snow will probably be unstable.
An avalanche can be very easy to start and most mornings you can hear cannon fire in alpine regions, used to set off avalanches and clear the unstable layer. This is such a well-recognised winter risk that ski slopes are groomed daily to make the pistes smooth and safe to use. The danger usually comes if you go "off-piste", into the powdery snow.
The death toll from an avalanche that swept away a group of Italian skiers in the Swiss Alps has risen to four after a man died from his injuries, police said on Sunday. The man was part of the group hit by an avalanche on Saturday in an area of the Swiss Alps known as Death Valley. Two women and two men died while a fifth skier was wounded. A sixth member of the group was not swept away and escaped unharmed. All of those involved were either 51 or 52 years old and from the Milan region.
They were skiing cross-country near a guesthouse in the Great Saint Bernard Pass, not far from the Italian border, when a massive sheet of snow dislodged and swept them away. The accident happened at an altitude of around 2,300 metres. Poor weather conditions and thick fog complicated the rescue operation. Rescuers managed to locate the skiers, who were all carrying avalanche victim detectors. Some were buried under as much as 2.5 metres (8ft) of snow.
Avalanches are taking a heavy toll in the Swiss Alps this winter season, killing at least 25 people so far, including Saturday’s deaths.