Sharp Rise in Summer Accidents in the Alps
20th August 2025
Last modified on September 13th, 2025
100 people is the average annual death toll across the Alps over the winter months. This summer 100 have died in the mountains of Italy alone since June 1st. UPDATED
UPDATED:
In the latest incident in the Alps an 85-year-old hiker was killed in Austria after a herd of cows trampled him and his 82-year-old wife while they were walking their dog, local police said Monday.
They were hiking to a mountain hut in Ramsau am Dachstein in Styria province.
Witnesses administered first aid and alerted emergency services.
The couple was then taken to a hospital in Salzburg.
The man died from his injuries before he could undergo emergency surgery.
Local prosecutors are conducting an investigation.
In another accident in the French Alps a man in his 60s was rescued from a Via Ferrata after falling and being suspended upside down 25m above the ground.
The incident occurred in Modane in the Savoie.
The man was trying to help his daughter, who was having difficulty, when he fell.
His harness was loose and became tangled around his ankles.
His daughter called the mountain rescue, and he was winched to the ground by helicopter.
“This operation was short, but very intense and complex,” said Captain Stéphane Narbaud of the PGHM mountain rescue.
“The blades of the Choucas 73 helicopter were less than two metres from the trees.”
Another recent accident took place in Switzerland on Sunday 31st August.
A 59-year-old paraglider took off from the Vounetz departure area in Charmey and hit a gondola in Charemy in Fribourg.
He was rescued by REGA, the Jaun rescue column, and the Helicopter Technical Specialists and airlifted to hospital.
The ski lift had to suspend operations for an hour to allow the paraglider to be rescued.
An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the accident.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has been informed.
Image © Etat de Fribourg – Staat Freiburg
Last month the Vice President of Italy’s national rescue organisation, Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS), Roberto Bolza, told Outside magazine that more than 100 people have died in the country’s peaks since the beginning of June.
That’s an average of three deaths each day.
Most are hikers.
Many of the incidents include slips and falls on challenging terrain, sudden illness or cardiac arrest, rock climbing accidents, and situations caused by rapidly changing weather or a lack of proper clothing.
In some of the deaths overconfident tourists have ventured off-trail, or become lost in difficult technical terrain without proper experience or equipment.
The CNSAS says that its life-saving rescue missions are up 20% in comparison to 2024.
The Dolomites, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
People are advised to be correctly equipped and to take a mountain guide if undertaking an activity outside their experience.
In the Dolomites some hikers have been rescued and found to be wearing flip-flops.
In Switzerland last week, 9 people died in sporting accidents.
They include five climbers & hikers and four paragliders.
A 65-year-old Dutchman died in a hang glider accident in the French Alps last weekend.
In Austria two German tourists died in the mountains last week.
The first fatality involved a 71-year-old man who fell to his death in the Stubaier Alps.
A 49-year-old woman lost her life after plunging down a waterfall during a family outing near the Zugspitze.
In Germany there has been a sharp growth in outdoor activities in the mountains.
Last summer, the mountain rescue teams in Bavaria responded to 3,640 emergency calls.
In the Pyrenees the situation is similar.
The body 27-year-old Cole Henderson, from the USA, was found in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in Spain.
He went missing while hiking last month.
He appears to have fallen about 200m down Monte Perdido, which is the third-highest peak in the Pyrenees.
The Pyrenees. Image © PlanetSKI
There are multiple reasons for the rise, but mostly it is down to the growing number of people heading to the mountains in the summer months where they undertake activities that they are not experienced in.
Some underestimate the dangers that the mountains hold.
The authorities say that climate change is also playing a part.
On the one had the melting ice and loosening of permafrost increases rockfall on the mountains.
On the other hand, it is leading to more tourists coming to the mountains to enjoy the cooler temperatures found at altitude, especially at night.
It’s so hot in Italy’s lowlands, said Roberto Bolza, he said, that “more and more people are going to the mountains.”
The growth in technology means people can get distracted from the dangers as they look at their phone, take selfies or rely on AI information that is not always accurate.
“It’s a combination of more and more people who have little experience all visiting the mountains at the same time,” said Simon Geitl, an Italian alpinist, to Outside magazine.
According to a study by the Austrian National Tourist Office around 43m Europeans across 10 surveyed markets planned to take a mountain holiday in 2025.
Swiss Alps in the summer. Image c/o PlanetSKI
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