Two people died in two different accidents in Ischgl yesterday, one of them was killed by an avalanche when he was skiing on a closed slope. The second skier passed away due to the injuries from a fall in the off-piste in the trees. A lot of avalanches came down in the Alps yesterday. The avalanche situation remains critical and our advice is not to ski off-piste the next couple of days. The avalanche danger is HIGH to EXTREME in a lot of regions in the Alps.
Slab avalanche from opposite slope
Three people were skiing on a closed slope in Ischgl yesterday, despite the avalanche danger was HIGH and the slope was closed already since Monday. Slope number 7 runs along the valley floor of the Velilltal. A spontaneous slab avalanche broke loose on one of the faces opposite the run at about 1:45 pm. All three skiers were hit by the avalanche. Two of them were able to free themselves and could start the rescue (with an avalanche beacon) with the help of someone else. It took ten minutes to locate the victim and another 15 minutes to dig him out as he was buried 1.6 meters below the snow. By that time, the person already passed away. Our thoughts go out to family and friends. (Source)
As you can see on the map above, the faces on both sides of the valley bottom (slope 7) are pretty steep. If you look at the slope in more detail, with the help of satellite imagery and altitude (wePowder Pro), you can also see that almost the entire descent runs above the tree line. Yesterday, the avalanche warning level was HIGH for that region.
Still unknow cause of death in the trees
Two brothers were also riding in Ischgl yesterday. The were skiing from the top station of the Bodenalpbahn in the direction of the Fimbatal. One of them died in the off-piste while skiing a tree run. It is assumed that the 22-year-old was fatally injured by a fall, as there were no signs of an avalanche. Our thought are with family and friends. (Source)
