Large parts of Austria were warned of the danger of avalanches on Saturday. Already on Friday afternoon, two skiers on the Schmittenhöhe in Zell am See in Pinzgau released a 300 meter wide and 800 meter long avalanche. A 44-year-old father from Vienna and his 13-year-old son drove into an unsecured slope in open terrain with avalanche warning level 4 and triggered the snow slab. Both were not recorded, the Salzburg police reported.
The piste rescue located the two skiers in the Schmittengraben and brought them back safely to the piste. Father and son were unharmed. During the identity check, the Viennese holidaymaker was very unreasonable with regard to the alpine dangers and downplayed the situation. A report for the criminal assessment will be submitted to the Salzburg public prosecutor’s office. Six forces from the alpine police and mountain rescue service as well as the “Libelle Salzburg” helicopter were deployed.
Alert level 4
Intense snowfall and wind have increased the risk of avalanches dangerously in Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Experts from the avalanche warning services from both federal states appealed to winter sports enthusiasts to exercise great caution. Inexperienced skiers should not leave the slopes at the moment. At higher altitudes, there was a widespread avalanche danger of level four on the five-part scale on Saturday.
The snow cover is unstable in all parts of the country, it was said from Tyrol. Up to 50 centimeters of fresh snow fell widely, and up to 40 centimeters more can be added over the course of Saturday. The fresh snow was heavily transported by the wind, this snowdrift accumulation could very easily be triggered at all exposures, even by individual winter sports enthusiasts.
