Another Avalanche Death in the Alps
11th April 2026
Last modified on April 14th, 2026
The latest victim is a 49 year old snowboarder from Germany who died in Kühtai near Innsbruck, Austria. It brings the number of fatalities in Europe this winter to 143 as there has been a Level 4 risk in parts of Austria. UPDATED
He was snowboarding with two other men when the avalanche struck.
Two of them were caught in the slide.
One was only partially buried with his head above the snow.
The other man was completely buried.
Neither had avalanche safety equipment and the deceased’s body was found two and a half hours after the accident.
The man, who came from Berlin, is the latest grim statistic that has seen over double the number of avalanche fatalities in Europe compared to last season when 70 people died.
I43 people have died so far.
Information & Image c/o European Avalanche Warning Services.
The annual average is around 100.
The highest number in recent years was 147 deaths in 2017/18 and it seems that number may be exceeded with several weeks of the season remaining.
See here for a recent PlanetSKI article on the avalanches, with explanations of why this winter has been so deadly:
On Monday 13th April further snow above 2,500m and rain lower down raised the risk to Level 4 (high) in the Tirol in Austria.
Avalanche risk in the Tirol, Austria, on Monday 13th April.
The province’s avalanche warning service is urging extreme caution for ski tourers and anyone heading off secured pistes.
The warning service said the main reasons were the increasingly waterlogged snowpack and incoming precipitation.
The greatest danger is in southern North Tirol and northern East Tirol.
Rainwater is penetrating into the snowpack and that is weakening coarse-grained weak layers that had formed earlier in the winter.
That increased the chance of wet snow avalanches releasing.
Matthias Walcher from the avalanche warning service said spontaneous avalanches were especially likely on steep west-, north- and east-facing slopes between 2,200 and 2,500 metres.
The Tirol’s safety councillor, Astrid Mair, said the avalanche situation was dangerous and stressed that terrain steeper than 30 degrees should be avoided.
In Switzerland it is Level Three (considerable) across large areas of the Swiss Alps.
Avalanche risk in Swiss Alps, on Monday 13th April. Image c/o SLF.
The Swiss and Austrian authorities are urging off piste skiers & snowboarders to exercise restraint, avoid steep terrain and be aware that avalanche paths may extend into unexpected areas.
Cooler temperatures are forecast for Tuesday night, which should help the snowpack refreeze and become more stable.
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