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Reading and gift tip | Seasonal report of the Austrian avalanche warning services 2017/18

Available in the store of the Austrian Alpine Club

by Lukas Ruetz • 12/08/2018
The Working Group of Austrian Avalanche Warning Services has published its seasonal report for winter 2017/18. As always, the report not only contains statistical evaluations of the past avalanche winter, but also many detailed and impressively illustrated analyses of specific accidental avalanches. In addition to the LWDs of the Austrian federal states, the SLF and the LWD South Tyrol are also represented with guest contributions. New this year: print version available from the Alpine Club store.

The winter of 2017/18 in a nutshell

  • Early start

  • Great touring conditions with frequently stable snow cover, practically no relevant weak layers close to the ground

  • but extremely high sliding snow activity. On 16.03.2018, 4 people were killed by a sliding snow avalanche in Valais. It is one of the largest sliding snow accidents known in the Alps.

  • Marked, particularly "toxic" weak layers on sunny slopes over short periods of time near the surface due to cold-to-warm processes

  • very high (5) avalanche danger at the end of January

  • extremely cold at the end of February

  • late formation of firn

  • but summer firn extremely early and up to high alpine areas

  • rapid end

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Winter 2017/18

A very warm October 2017 was followed by an averagely snowy November. From mid-November, ski tours can already be undertaken in good parts of the Alps from relatively low starting points. The snowy early winter compared to the previous three seasons continues in December. Finally, in January there are two periods - around January 4th and January 22nd - with precipitation-rich westerly weather conditions. It snows, in some cases in huge quantities, and in western Tyrol, South Tyrol and Switzerland even reaches level 5. This means that the significant precipitation of the winter is practically over and after a phase of extremely stable conditions, an extreme cold spell sets in at the end of February. Temperatures at the highest measuring stations plummet to well below -30°C - the coldest they have been since the 1980s. In March, it is almost consistently cloudy in most of Austria and it is not until the beginning of April that spring makes its striking entrance with a change in the general weather situation. Temperatures reach almost summer-like levels and the snow cover disappears in no time at all. River levels are exceeded that have been recorded since the 1950s. May continues the trend of April with only a brief interruption and the relatively thick snow cover, especially at low altitudes, melts almost as quickly as in the record negative years (but with a meagre snow cover from the high winter) of 2015 and 2017.

This is followed by an extremely hot summer and autumn, with the glaciers massively losing mass even in September and only becoming permanently snow-covered at the end of September.

Statistics

In a total of 176 avalanche incidents registered by the warning services in Austria between October and May in the 2017/18 season, 43 of the 396 people involved were injured. 16 were fatal. This means that the number of avalanche victims in this snowy winter in Austria was well below the long-term average of 25 people. While a weak layer in the old snow was often the decisive factor for many accidents in previous seasons, this season 81% of all avalanche accidents involved a drifting snow problem.

6 and 7 of the fatal accidents occurred at level 2 and 3 respectively.

60% of the fatal avalanche accidents occurred on slopes in the south sector.

Alpine countries

In the Alpine region, a total of 104 people died in avalanche accidents in the 2017/18 season.

Pictorial accident reports

In addition to this and other key statistical data, the seasonal report contains contributions from the LWDs of the individual federal states on the winter in their region and detailed, richly illustrated accident analyses of selected incidents. The texts as well as the statistics and illustrations are informative and easy to understand. This puts the Ö-LWD's seasonal report at the highest level of accident prevention in terms of avalanches.

As every year, the detailed seasonal report is an impressive testimony to the incredibly valuable and highly professional work of the avalanche warning services.

Conclusion: Worth every cent and better invested than in the latest technical gadgets!

Seasonal report available here in the ÖAV store.

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