Lawinensicherheit

What experienced skiers could more or less reliably glean from the text of the bulletin is now put into concrete figures. From this season onwards, the SLF will use three intermediate levels for the avalanche danger levels moderate, considerable, large and very large. For level 3, for example, a 3, 3= or 3+ is given in addition to the "whole" level (3, considerable). 3- is closer to 2, 3= is "neutral" and 3+ is closer to 4.

Once again this year, SNOWHOW is offering free avalanche workshops for beginners and slightly advanced avalanche experts at the start of the freeride season. The one-day practical workshops are kept small with a maximum of 7 participants per mountain guide and the theory is applied and practiced directly in the terrain. The kick-off event will take place on December 2nd at 19:00h in the Carat Congress Center in Gurgl, Ötztal, in the form of a theory lecture.

The Austrian Alpine Association is once again offering the Avalanche Update this year, and we are pleased to announce that there will once again be more than 20 live presentations in Austria. We can expect the latest developments in practical avalanche awareness and rescue techniques, which will be illustrated using avalanche accidents from the previous season. A lecture for everyone who wants to get to grips with snow and its dangers again and prepare for winter in the mountains!

Today (Monday, 7.11.) from 12-13:00 Peter Plattner and Walter Würtl will ask the question: "Are you prepared for winter 22/23?" at the ÖGSL's Schnee.Semmelnar. After an introductory talk, there will be time for discussion with the speakers and the community.

The "Schnee.Semmelnare" of the Austrian Society for Snow and Avalanches (ÖGSL) opens the new winter season with exciting, international lectures on the topic of snow and avalanches. The lectures take place monthly, are recorded online and are available for streaming on YouTube or on the ÖGSL website. Take a look!

BCA is carrying out a voluntary recall of the Tracker 4 avalanche transceiver for certain serial numbers. In Europe, only a small number of devices are likely to be affected. The reason for the recall is a possible problem with the plastic production of the rotary knob for switching the device on and off.

Pieps/Black Diamond is calling for a functional check to be carried out on most of the current avalanche transceivers it produces:

We know that things sometimes go wrong on the mountain. We prepare for accidents by attending courses, practicing rescue techniques and having the right equipment with us. But how do you prepare for what comes after the accident?

ISPO, an interesting but also very exhausting trade fair, has been moved from its usual date in January to the autumn. Nevertheless, we endeavour to provide an overview of market innovations at the usual time! As we were unable to scrutinise the material ourselves at ISPO, the information is based on press releases from the manufacturers, not all of which are sent out by any means. So: No guarantee for completeness!

An avalanche-rich time lies behind us. The old snow problem, which was responsible for many of the avalanches in recent weeks, unfortunately remains with us.

It starts to snow and the oracle forgets about the snow? No, not at all.

There are repeated reports of an old snow problem, but exactly what this means can be confusing. First of all, you should know that an avalanche problem (old, new, drifting, wet and sliding snow problem) is not a hazard pattern, but can consist of different hazard patterns. An avalanche problem describes the type of avalanche and its mechanisms, whereas a hazard pattern describes the responsible weak layers and their processes.