SLF

The SLF's seasonal report on the 2016/17 avalanche winter in Switzerland is also available online. The report contains detailed information on the weather, snow cover and avalanche risk.

White Risk is a four-language, web-based avalanche prevention platform (www.whiterisk.ch) and consists of the EXPLORE, LEARN, TOUR and PRO modules. The platform is a comprehensive interactive reference work on avalanche awareness and also includes a tour planning tool (TOUR) with a link to the mobile app.

An analysis of the data on avalanche victims in Switzerland shows: The number of victims in secured terrain has decreased significantly over the last 80 years. In open terrain, it fell after a peak in the 1980s and has remained relatively constant since then - despite more snow sports enthusiasts off-piste.

Avalanche rescue has made great progress in recent decades because new rescue and communication technologies are being used more and more frequently by off-piste skiers, ski tourers and rescuers.

A look at the map of fatal avalanche accidents in the Swiss Alps over the last 20 years shows that a particularly high number of fatal accidents occurred in Valais and Graubünden (Fig. 1). What is the reason for this increase in accidents? Is touring activity higher in these areas, resulting in more avalanche accidents? Or are there other reasons for the increased risk of avalanche accidents in these regions?