It is the deadliest avalanche weekend in the Alps so far this season: According to authorities, eight people died in three avalanches in Austria on Saturday alone.
Jan 18, 2026, 05:38January 18, 2026, 2:14 p.m
Mountain rescuer Gerhard Kremser is at a loss and desperate. There have been warnings about the delicate avalanche situation in the Alps for days – and yet quite a few people set off on a ski tour. “I don’t know what’s going on in people’s heads,” he tells the German Press Agency about the behavior of winter sports enthusiasts. For eight people, their ski tour in the Austrian Alps ended fatally at the weekend. They were buried by slab avalanches and probably suffocated under the masses of snow within a very short time.
It was the deadliest avalanche weekend in the Alps so far this season. The three snow slabs fell in the federal states of Salzburg and Styria. On Friday, a German died in an avalanche during a ski tour on Piz Badus in Switzerland.
There have recently been several avalanches in Austria’s mountains. (symbol image)Image: keystone
Tour guide on course among the dead
A course group from the Alpine Club was even affected by the most serious accident. The organization said the course took place as part of a regular winter training program run by the Austrian Alpine Club. “It was a multi-day course for tour guides, led by a mountain guide. “All very experienced people,” says Alpine Club spokesman Gerald Zagler to dpa.
In the accident in Grossarltal in the state of Salzburg, four of the seven course participants were killed – three men aged 53, 63 and 65 and a 60-year-old woman.
«In our courses, risk competence and security awareness are the top priority. This misfortune hurts deeply,” says Jörg Randl, head of the mountain sports department of the Austrian Alpine Club. The organization is in close contact with the authorities and the relatives of those affected. “The Alpine community mourns with the relatives,” says Wolfgang Schnabl, President of the Austrian Alpine Association.
58-year-old dies in front of her husband
In the state of Styria, three people were buried under an avalanche in the Murtal area. Any help came too late for the three Czechs. Their bodies were expected to be recovered on Sunday.
Near Bad Hofgastein, a 58-year-old woman was hit by an avalanche while skiing in front of her husband’s eyes. In this case too, the emergency doctor could only determine death. Further avalanches were observed without anything happening.
A large number of rescuers were deployed during the three accidents. A total of more than 200 helpers and mountain rescuers reportedly helped to rescue the dead and fly the injured to hospitals.
Expert: “Only a few meters between life and death”
The weekend’s slab avalanches are not comparable to the dust avalanches that thunder over a long distance into the valley. Often only a manageable area the size of a football field or less slips. “There are only a few meters between life and death,” says Kremser, referring to where the skiers were at the moment of the accident.
In any case, even small amounts of snow were enough to bury people. Without a breathing cavity, there is a risk of death from suffocation within a few minutes.
Even light weight can trigger an avalanche
The current avalanche warning level 3 is particularly treacherous, says Kremser. It obviously gives the impression that the particularly dangerous levels four and five have not yet been reached. But at each level the danger doubles. “Three is twice as dangerous as two.” Warning levels four and five made many tourers hesitate anyway, according to the mountain rescuer.
The snow cover is very unstable. The old snow is frozen – and 30 to 40 centimeters of new snow fell on this layer about a week ago, says Kremser. Both layers have practically no connection. The strong wind also caused a lot of snowdrift to accumulate. “The snow base is really bad this time.”
Victims are well equipped in the event of an avalanche
The weight of a single skier can be enough to cause a snow slab. “Avalanche-prone areas are located in all orientations above approximately 2,000 m. These areas are numerous,” says the avalanche warning service website. “They are covered with fresh snow and are therefore hardly visible even to the trained eye.”
The victims were actually well equipped for the avalanche emergency, said Kremser. Such equipment includes electronic devices designed to make it easier to find buried victims. “It was no use.” (sda/dpa)