At least 17 people have been killed by avalanches in Europe in the past month, amid ‘extreme risk’ warnings from regional authorities.
This past weekend alone, eight people died in avalanches, with several incidents involving off-piste skiers in the Alps.
In one tragic event, a Brit, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France.
The resort said rescue teams were alerted to an avalanche at 1:57pm on Sunday and immediately dispatched to the scene.
More than 50 responders, including medics, ski instructors and a piste dog deployed by helicopter, took part in the search.
The man was located after around 50 minutes, buried beneath eight feet of snow, but could not be revived.
The death was one of three avalanche fatalities involving off-piste skiers in the French Alps on Sunday.
In Vallorcine, Haute-Savoie, a 32-year-old ski patroller was swept away by an avalanche and killed, Le Monde reported.
Click on the red dots above to view where the avalanches occurred
Although he was not buried, the force of the snow threw him against a tree, causing fatal injuries, according to the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM).
Rescue teams also recovered the body of another skier buried in an avalanche in Courchevel, though authorities provided no further details.
On Saturday, two skiers were killed in Val-d’Isère, in the Savoie region, after being buried beneath 2.5 metres of snow.
Another skier died the same day at the Arêches-Beaufort resort, also in Savoie, after being caught in an avalanche while skiing off-piste with a companion.
Elsewhere in Europe, a female skier died in Austria after being buried by an avalanche on Weerberg mountain in the Schwaz district of Tyrol on Sunday afternoon.
She was rescued in critical condition but later died in hospital in Innsbruck.
In Italy, a man was killed by an avalanche above the northern city of Aosta on Saturday. He was swept away below Pointe de la Pierre and fatally injured.
His body was recovered by the Aosta Valley avalanche rescue service with assistance from the fire department.
The avalanche occurred along a route popular with ski tourers, mountain rescue officials said.
The deadly weekend unfolded as authorities in Europe had issued repeated Level 4 and Level 5 (‘high’ and ‘extreme’) avalanche danger warnings.
Regional authorities urged ‘extreme vigilance’ from and cautioned against off-piste skiing.
Rescue professionals reportedly expressed frustration at the number of skiers tackling the dangerous sloped without essential equipment such as beacons, shovels, or knowledge of avalanche alerts.
While ski resorts and official avalanche services generally maintain controlled piste areas, off-piste and unpatrolled terrain remains particularly dangerous.
Experts advise carrying avalanche safety equipment, travelling with experienced partners and checking official avalanche bulletins before heading into the mountains.
The president of the Association of Slope Safety (ADSP), Frédéric Bonnevie, took to Facebook to, criticise the level of ‘non-compliance with instructions’.
In the past month, Avalanches have claimed the lives of at least nine others.
On January 2, two people died and two others were injured in a series of avalanche incidents across Italy’s Piedmont region.
The heightened danger of the past month is said to be caused by heavy snowfall and wind and storm impact
The first struck in the upper Maira Valley above Acceglio, burying two alpinists and killing one.
A second avalanche later that afternoon seriously injured a skier near Turin, while a third, in the Conca del Pra area of Bobbio Pellice, claimed the life of another.
In Spain, a snowshoer was killed in an avalanche in the Pyrenees on January 1, after being buried in the Bielsa Valley in the Aragon region.
The death followed another fatal incident in the Pyrenees on December 1, when three off-piste skiers, a paediatrician, his wife and a friend, were killed on Pico Tablato.
France also saw multiple fatalities. On December 26, a professional guide died after an avalanche struck a group of six skiers descending the Rodzins Couloir above La Plagne.
He was found in cardiac arrest and died in hospital later that day.
Another skier was killed in a separate avalanche near Albertville the same day.
Earlier in the month, on December 6, a 19-year-old German mountaineer died in an avalanche in Austria’s Tyrol region after being swept hundreds of metres down steep terrain.
The heightened danger of the past month is said to be caused by heavy snowfall and wind and storm impact.
According to SnowBrains, large amounts of snowfall contribute to deep new layers on top of older, weaker snowpacks, creating prime conditions for avalanches.
This combined with gusty winds leads to a danger by forming areas of unstable loading that can be easily triggered by a skiier.