Rescuers blame weather and ‘underprepared skiers’ for rise in Alps avalanche deaths

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James WaterhouseEurope correspondent, Val Thorens in the French Alps

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BBC

A helicopter is the quickest way to reach those stranded by an avalanche in the French Alps

From the vantage point of our helicopter above the Alps, you can make out scars and dimples from recent avalanches.

More than 100 people have died across the mountains this season so far, according to the European Avalanche Warning Services – a ballpark figure not seen for eight years.

As our pilot throws his rescue helicopter over one of the jagged ridges below us, we see ant-like skiers queueing at lifts or weaving down various pistes.

There is an enthralling beauty about the dense snow that sits atop the Tarentaise, an imposing network of valleys here in the heart of the French Alps.

“As with all around the world, the climate is changing,” says Frédéric Bonnevie, our guide and a mountain patroller for 32 years.

He points to shorter winters, and the best powder now being found at a higher altitude.

And although thick, this season’s snow covering has been unstable, contributing to a steep rise in the number of people killed by alpine avalanches.

Bonnevie explains they can control the conditions on the pistes, but not off them, and that’s where skiers have been getting into perilous difficulties.

BBC/Paul Pradier

Frédéric Bonnevie says the avalanche danger is greatest off piste

“A lot of the victims are skiers who come here often, are technically skilled, but aren’t necessarily connoisseurs of the mountain environment,” suggests Stéphane Bornet, the director of Anena, a French snow safety association.

Several, he says, didn’t have safety kits, such as a transceiver to reveal their location or a shovel. Bornet claims they also didn’t carry out basic research on the routes they wanted to take.

The statistics are sobering; if you’re carrying a transceiver there is a 70% chance you’ll survive an avalanche, according to emergency crews. The first 16 minutes after being buried are seen as crucial.

If you don’t have one, the rescue operation can take longer, needing dozens of people and more equipment, and the survival rate drops to 20%.

The BBC team saw traces of avalanches as they flew over the ski area

“Most of the time when we’re coming, it can be too late,” says Pierre Boulonnais, who has patrolled the slopes of Val Thorens for 17 years. With his weathered face, he is a man of the mountain, and knows his snow.

“That’s why you need to have all the rescue equipment on you, and to be in a group, but sometimes you can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he adds.

We talk as he digs a small hole off-piste. Our short journey there is exhausting, as you have to keep moving to not sink into the soft powder.

After patiently waiting for me to get my breath back, Boulonnais explains the difference between wet and dry snow.

He runs a metal ruler through 60cm (2ft) of the soft upper layer, before hitting the dense, compressed snow underneath. It’s invisible to the eye.

“If you are trapped under just 50cm of snow of this density, you already have more than a quarter of a tonne on top of you,” explains Bornet.

BBC/Paul Pradier

Pierre Boulonnais says it is often too late when they reach avalanche victims

There’s been no escaping avalanche reports in the French media. The bodies of two female skiers were recently found buried under snow in La Chapelle d’Abondance after their vehicle was left in a car park.

Sixty-four people had to be evacuated by helicopter after their village was cut off in Isère. “It was like being in the depths of Siberia,” one local was quoted as saying.

Questions around the impact of climate change are being asked, and there are calls for “foreigners and the reckless” to pay for rescue costs.

Out of the millions of annual visitors to these resorts, the British make up a quarter, and for those disembarking the ski lift at 2,800m (9,200ft) altitude, recent events seem front of mind.

“There are lots of avalanche stories on our social media, so we’re just feeling a bit twitchy,” admits Bella. “But the avalanche risk has gone down from a 5/5 to a 3/5, so I feel reassured.”

Snowboarder Bella and others on the slopes say they take extra care

Rescue crews insist the risk of avalanches is nevertheless still high.

A train in Switzerland was derailed recently after an avalanche slammed into its side. No-one was killed.

Diego Gonçalo filmed the moments after an avalanche in St Anton, Austria. A snow cloud could be seen filling the valley and three people died.

“Everybody was amazed by the sight,” he remembers. “There was no sound, but then we heard the emergency rescue team arrive; helicopters, ambulances, and the police.”

“It’s amazing what nature can do and then you realise it can kill you and you can’t do anything. You feel so small in such a situation.”

Avalanche deaths have been this high before, so, while there is a consensus that climate change is playing a part, it’s not yet clear to what extent.

However, fluctuating temperatures are influencing how much snow falls, when it does, and where.

“We had a lot of snow at the end of October, then not enough over the Christmas holidays,” explains Bonnevie, the head of the mountain patrol teams.

“So when we had a lot of snow in January, there was a high avalanche risk.”

Val Thorens has seen heavy snow this winter

One off-piste instructor with 25 years of experience told us he had also seen a cultural shift; in the past, off-piste skiers would wait a few days after snowfall to allow it to settle. Now, he claims, they immediately venture out to maximise their short breaks.

Bonnevie agrees: “The new generation want to be the best, the biggest and the quickest.”

Rescuers feel human complacency has a role alongside the changing weather, and, for officials like Bornet, the former is easier to overcome than the latter.

“You have to keep in mind that the mountains are a magnificent playground, a field of adventures,” he says.

“Let’s make sure your memories are positive ones.”

Additional reporting by Paul Pradier and Marianne Baisnee.

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