Lawinensicherheit

The OpenSlopeMap project, founded by skiing software developers Peter Schnappauf and Reini Riedl, offers freely accessible online slope maps for the Alpine region on a non-commercial basis. There are some interesting new features for the new season:

One winter morning a good three years ago, I made friends with fear. Since then, it has become a cherished companion.

Sliding snow avalanches cannot be triggered by a regular additional load - neither as a skier nor as a blaster. Why is that the case?

PowderGuide was there for the second time to give us and you an impression of the conference. The purpose of the two-day event is to update your knowledge of winter terrain just in time for the start of the season.

This year, together with risk'n'fun, we have once again awarded a training place for the r'n'f Camps Training Session, Next Level and for the Chillout. Lisa, this year's winner, reports on the training session in Sölden. By the way, the next free places are at the camp on the Hochkönig in February!

If you haven't done it yet, you should definitely do it: get the shovel from the construction site, the probe from the flower bed (if it was used as a climbing aid, as it was for me in summer) and the avalanche transceiver from the basket for a mushroom search. It's winter!

The Working Group of Austrian Avalanche Warning Services has published its seasonal report for winter 2016/17. As always, the report contains not only statistical evaluations of the past avalanche winter, but also many detailed and impressively illustrated reports on specific accidental avalanches. In addition to the LWDs of the Austrian federal states, the SLF, the LWD Bavaria and the LWD South Tyrol are also represented with guest contributions.

While the first big snowfalls of the season are causing a stir here in Germany, dozens of volunteers are mercilessly trampling the first snow of the winter in Aspen. Shoes and trouser legs wrapped in Ducktape, they march through the freshly snow-covered terrain to prevent the early season snow from becoming an old snow problem.

The Austrian Alpine Association is once again offering evening lectures to get in the mood for the ski season, where winter sports enthusiasts can update their avalanche knowledge.

Winter is here, as is the snow, and the Snow Sturgeon has also returned to the keyboard from his snow profile hole in the Western Alps. With reference to last season's SnowFlurry columns, we are recalling some of the terms that regularly appear there.

Snow & Safety has established itself as an event to get the season off to a good start in Lech-Zürs. On December 1st and 2nd, there is an extensive range of courses and training sessions that can be attended for a fee. The varied lecture program in the evening is free of charge and open to everyone, even without registration.

Reading material for preparing for the season: The presentations from the Avalanche Symposium of Naturefriends and ZAMG are now available to read in the published conference proceedings.