All victims were winter athletes who were in unsecured terrain. The long-term average number of fatalities by the end of March was around 18 each, as the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) announced on Tuesday. There was only one accident in this year’s avalanche winter in which more than one person died in the same avalanche.
A total of 128 people were recorded in 89 avalanches. The number of reported avalanches with property damage was 112. This is around a third less than the average of the past 20 years with 168 damage avalanches and 175 people recorded.
Favorable avalanche situation
According to the SLF, the reasons for the lower number of fatalities may be that in January there were largely favorable conditions with good snow cover build-up. Mild temperatures and repeated rain up to high altitudes would have stabilized the snow cover in the medium term.
In addition, in the most dangerous phases of winter, the weather and snow conditions due to storm and rain were unattractive for tours up to high altitudes. Fewer tourers and variant drivers should therefore have been on the road.
Given the 122 people affected by avalanches, the SLF suspects that some of them may have been lucky. The percentage of fatal accidents is, with a decrease of 72 percent, even more than the long-term average.
Risk level 1 forecast more frequently
In winter 2019/20, the frequency of the five danger levels roughly corresponded to the long-term average. Only danger level 1 (low) was forecast 7 percent more often. This indicates an above average avalanche situation and may have contributed to the small number of avalanche victims.
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