Avalanche Deaths in Europe Top 75 To date this season, avalanches have caused 75 skier deaths throughout Europe—a five-year high. Twenty-four of these occurred in France, 20 in Switzerland, 15 in Italy, 14 in Austria and two in Germany, reports wepowder.com. The latest victim, a British skier—one of three skiers killed over the weekend—died in […]

Avalanche Canada Adds Crowdsourcing Feature to App Revelstoke, B.C. Avalanche Canada—previously known as the Canadian Avalanche Centre—added a significant update to their free avalanche app, available for Android and iPhone. The upgrade allows users to post real-time observations, photos and comments via the crowdsourced Mountain Information Network (MIN). These geo-tagged MIN postings display on both […]

Six experienced French skiers—four men and two women, between ages 50 and 70—were killed in a massive avalanche while traversing alpine terrain on the border of Italy and France on January 24. “When they set off, the sky was clear and the risk of avalanche estimated at 3 out of 5,” Haute-Alpes chief officer Pierre Besnard told the British news outlet, Mirror. Their bodies were recovered early the following morning at 8,000 feet, reports International Business Times.

He heard the slope pop, let out a brief squeal and continued. The slope cracked again, and with snow breaking apart under his boots, 30-year-old snowboarder Greg Hugunin—with his helmet cam capturing the moment—made a 45-degree turn to safety.

U.S. Ski Team Athletes Die in Avalanche Soelden, Austria U.S. Ski Team development athletes Ronnie Berlack, 20, of Franconia, N.H., and Bryce Astle, 19, of Sandy, Utah, died in an avalanche on January 6. They were skiing off piste down 3,058-meter Gaislachkogl, in Soelden, Austria, when the slide occurred. The four other skiers in their party […]

Two more Vermont ski areas are embracing uphill traffic. Late this month, Bolton Valley Ski Area and Sugarbush Resort released their new uphill traffic policies, joining the growing list of ski areas nationwide that welcome on-piste skinning. Bolton Valley offers two uphill routes open at all times, including during operating hours; Sugarbush’s policy is more nuanced, with specific trails open on both Lincoln Peak and Mt. Ellen at various times.

The American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) has hired Tim Bennet as their new executive director. Bennet’s position replaces the roles of both Brian Lazar and Tom Murphy as they transitioned to AIARE’s board of directors. “I saw a fantastic chance to blend my personal passion for skiing and safe, outdoor adventure with my skills in nonprofit management,” Bennet said in a press release.

This week two storms—combined with the lake effect off the Great Lakes—pummeled the Northeast. Artic winds blowing over unfrozen Lake Erie pulled a wall of moisture into the sky, converted it to light, fluffy snow and dumped more than 60 inches along a 130-mile stretch of I-90, extending from Erie to Buffalo. Roofs collapsed. People were trapped and needed rescue, and cars were abandoned.

It was high fives all around when Philippe Bouchard and four others chased fresh snow over two days in Murdochville, Quebec. The small mining town of Murdochville, located on the Gaspé Peninsula in northern New Brunswick, receives 500 inches of annual snowfall and got its first bramble-deep dump last weekend. Additional snowfall is expected throughout the coming week.

First reported avalanche accident of the season Crested Butte, Colo. On Monday, November 3, the Crested Butte Avalanche Center (CBAC) was notified of a slab avalanche on a north-facing slope on Mt. Owen. Two skiers, who were boot-packing up Jenga Chute, were partially buried in the slide but are reportedly uninjured. The slab broke near […]