Avalanche warning for half-term in the Alps

As thousands of British families arrive in ski resorts for the half-term break to find blue skies, sunshine and near-perfect conditions, mountain-safety authorities are urging inexperienced skiers and snowboarders not to stray off piste.

Avalanche warnings in the Pyrenees and the Alpes du Sud are currently at level four (out of five), denoting a pronounced risk, and there is a level-three alert — considerable — in the Alpes du Nord. The Ski Club of Great Britain also reports heightened warning levels in Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

“It is safer when the weather is bad,” said Jean-Marc Berger, a Chamonix pisteur. “Sunshine makes the powder sparkle, and it becomes too tempting for relatively unfit skiers who come only once or twice a year. They see the locals doing it and they think they can follow, but it’s rarely local bodies we dig out.”

“A local kid with fat skis, an avalanche beacon, a spade and an airbag knows what he’s doing,” said Jean-Sébastien Maret, assistant safety director at Verbier. “Then you get a father with two children who goes under the tapes and down a slope I wouldn’t touch without extreme caution. It’s brainless.”

The number of avalanches triggered by skiers is rising as increasing numbers of powder enthusiasts head off piste, often without guides, specialist equipment or practical experience. As the death toll rises — 23 have died across Europe so far this year — calls for tighter regulation are getting louder.

Italy is already considering a crackdown on irresponsible skiers after a weekend in which eight died on the country’s slopes. Under new laws, those putting the lives of others at risk by triggering avalanches could be jailed; and skiers, snowboarders and mountaineers ignoring instructions to avoid danger zones will face fines of up to €5,000 (£4,350).

The proposals, drafted by Italy’s civil protection authority, could be in place by the end of the season, but critics have condemned them as a waste of time and money that would do nothing to save lives. The Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner said the proposals were a “hysterical overreaction”, pointing out that “every citizen already has a duty towards others, including when they are in the mountains”.