Swiss Avalanche Institute Digitises Reports

18th September 2025

The organisation has completed the digitization of more than 700 historical snow and avalanche reports from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF.

These reports, published between 1938 and 2005, document decades of avalanche observations and snow research by researchers from Switzerland and around the world.

The collection ranges from early measurements of the snowpack to detailed reports on major avalanche events and offers an insight into both the history of snow science and the development of safety measures in alpine regions.

These reports are now accessible to all in the institutional repository DORA.

Drawing of a snow profile from the first internal report, 1938. Image c/o WSL and SLF.

Shooting an avalanche with a mortar, 1940. Image c/o WSL and SLF.

Some scientific highlights from the reports:

• As early as the 1940s, researchers intensively studied the crystal plasticity of snow and developed new experimental approaches to better understand the complex deformation behavior of snow.

• Historical avalanche events, such as the devastating avalanche of 1958/59 in Iran, led to increased international cooperation and improved protection measures.

• Experiments with avalanche barriers and reforestation in alpine regions in the 1960s provided important insights into the protection of mountain forest areas and their contribution to avalanche prevention.

• At the end of the 1980s, the introduction of Denoth devices made it possible to measure snow moisture much more accurately than manual test.

• Research into improving safety during avalanche rescues in the 1990s led to the development and testing of the ABS avalanche airbag, which demonstrably reduces the risk of burial.

The digitization and publication of these historical research results on DORA preserves valuable scientific heritage and promotes future progress in avalanche research and safety in the Alps.

Photos from the internal report, 1955. Image c/o WSL and SLF.

Drawing of various avalanche paths from the internal report, 1944. Image c/o WSL and SLF.