Avalanche fatalities in the European Alps: long-term trends and statistics

Techel, Frank; Jarry, Frédéric; Kronthaler, Georg; Mitterer, Susanna; Nairz, Patrick; Pavšek, Miha; Valt, Mauro; Darms, Gian

doi:10.5194/gh-71-147-2016

Articles | Volume 71, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-71-147-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-71-147-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 71, issue 2

Standard article

|

28 Jun 2016

Standard article |

| 28 Jun 2016

Avalanche fatalities in the European Alps: long-term trends and statistics

Frank Techel, Frédéric Jarry, Georg Kronthaler, Susanna Mitterer, Patrick Nairz, Miha Pavšek, Mauro Valt, and Gian Darms

Viewed

Total article views: 7,321 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)

HTML	PDF	XML	Total	BibTeX	EndNote
2,742	4,393	186	7,321	156	203

HTML: 2,742
PDF: 4,393
XML: 186
Total: 7,321
BibTeX: 156
EndNote: 203

Views and downloads (calculated since 28 Jun 2016)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Jun 2016	24	5	0	29
Jul 2016	53	15	1	69
Aug 2016	64	16	1	81
Sep 2016	60	7	1	68
Oct 2016	75	20	0	95
Nov 2016	24	42	0	66
Dec 2016	11	36	0	47
Jan 2017	11	91	1	103
Feb 2017	5	93	1	99
Mar 2017	15	148	1	164
Apr 2017	11	122	0	133
May 2017	13	115	1	129
Jun 2017	7	92	1	100
Jul 2017	7	99	0	106
Aug 2017	6	111	0	117
Sep 2017	10	93	2	105
Oct 2017	4	73	1	78
Nov 2017	8	105	1	114
Dec 2017	11	48	1	60
Jan 2018	16	100	5	121
Feb 2018	48	126	10	184
Mar 2018	18	103	1	122
Apr 2018	27	80	2	109
May 2018	12	27	1	40
Jun 2018	10	24	1	35
Jul 2018	11	37	3	51
Aug 2018	6	34	0	40
Sep 2018	7	25	1	33
Oct 2018	16	46	5	67
Nov 2018	77	53	0	130
Dec 2018	14	22	2	38
Jan 2019	10	213	0	223
Feb 2019	10	128	0	138
Mar 2019	9	78	0	87
Apr 2019	5	42	0	47
May 2019	15	23	0	38
Jun 2019	6	27	1	34
Jul 2019	6	18	0	24
Aug 2019	4	24	1	29
Sep 2019	7	15	0	22
Oct 2019	1	15	0	16
Nov 2019	6	32	1	39
Dec 2019	9	37	0	46
Jan 2020	34	40	1	75
Feb 2020	8	41	0	49
Mar 2020	9	30	1	40
Apr 2020	9	21	1	31
May 2020	14	17	0	31
Jun 2020	18	15	4	37
Jul 2020	47	42	31	120
Aug 2020	13	19	2	34
Sep 2020	19	9	1	29
Oct 2020	9	16	3	28
Nov 2020	15	26	2	43
Dec 2020	21	18	1	40
Jan 2021	22	31	1	54
Feb 2021	23	24	2	49
Mar 2021	30	30	1	61
Apr 2021	32	39	1	72
May 2021	39	24	0	63
Jun 2021	13	17	3	33
Jul 2021	15	14	3	32
Aug 2021	28	16	0	44
Sep 2021	20	18	1	39
Oct 2021	18	34	0	52
Nov 2021	26	45	2	73
Dec 2021	15	40	2	57
Jan 2022	23	30	3	56
Feb 2022	16	30	3	49
Mar 2022	25	27	1	53
Apr 2022	8	18	0	26
May 2022	15	20	5	40
Jun 2022	13	11	2	26
Jul 2022	11	9	0	20
Aug 2022	26	21	2	49
Sep 2022	69	70	0	139
Oct 2022	51	32	2	85
Nov 2022	27	32	3	62
Dec 2022	40	23	0	63
Jan 2023	27	32	1	60
Feb 2023	18	21	1	40
Mar 2023	40	39	2	81
Apr 2023	12	31	1	44
May 2023	3	18	0	21
Jun 2023	11	10	0	21
Jul 2023	8	12	0	20
Aug 2023	12	17	2	31
Sep 2023	9	6	1	16
Oct 2023	22	9	2	33
Nov 2023	10	4	3	17
Dec 2023	19	17	0	36
Jan 2024	21	26	1	48
Feb 2024	20	41	0	61
Mar 2024	11	18	1	30
Apr 2024	40	25	4	69
May 2024	42	23	4	69
Jun 2024	42	20	1	63
Jul 2024	24	15	4	43
Aug 2024	45	14	5	64
Sep 2024	17	16	0	33
Oct 2024	22	14	1	37
Nov 2024	17	28	1	46
Dec 2024	25	42	1	68
Jan 2025	35	28	3	66
Feb 2025	39	20	3	62
Mar 2025	37	20	1	58
Apr 2025	37	19	0	56
May 2025	47	24	3	74
Jun 2025	80	15	0	95
Jul 2025	160	20	1	181
Aug 2025	51	47	3	101
Sep 2025	51	26	1	78
Oct 2025	70	38	4	112
Nov 2025	28	29	0	57

Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 28 Jun 2016)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Jun 2016	24	5	0	29
Jul 2016	53	15	1	69
Aug 2016	64	16	1	81
Sep 2016	60	7	1	68
Oct 2016	75	20	0	95
Nov 2016	24	42	0	66
Dec 2016	11	36	0	47
Jan 2017	11	91	1	103
Feb 2017	5	93	1	99
Mar 2017	15	148	1	164
Apr 2017	11	122	0	133
May 2017	13	115	1	129
Jun 2017	7	92	1	100
Jul 2017	7	99	0	106
Aug 2017	6	111	0	117
Sep 2017	10	93	2	105
Oct 2017	4	73	1	78
Nov 2017	8	105	1	114
Dec 2017	11	48	1	60
Jan 2018	16	100	5	121
Feb 2018	48	126	10	184
Mar 2018	18	103	1	122
Apr 2018	27	80	2	109
May 2018	12	27	1	40
Jun 2018	10	24	1	35
Jul 2018	11	37	3	51
Aug 2018	6	34	0	40
Sep 2018	7	25	1	33
Oct 2018	16	46	5	67
Nov 2018	77	53	0	130
Dec 2018	14	22	2	38
Jan 2019	10	213	0	223
Feb 2019	10	128	0	138
Mar 2019	9	78	0	87
Apr 2019	5	42	0	47
May 2019	15	23	0	38
Jun 2019	6	27	1	34
Jul 2019	6	18	0	24
Aug 2019	4	24	1	29
Sep 2019	7	15	0	22
Oct 2019	1	15	0	16
Nov 2019	6	32	1	39
Dec 2019	9	37	0	46
Jan 2020	34	40	1	75
Feb 2020	8	41	0	49
Mar 2020	9	30	1	40
Apr 2020	9	21	1	31
May 2020	14	17	0	31
Jun 2020	18	15	4	37
Jul 2020	47	42	31	120
Aug 2020	13	19	2	34
Sep 2020	19	9	1	29
Oct 2020	9	16	3	28
Nov 2020	15	26	2	43
Dec 2020	21	18	1	40
Jan 2021	22	31	1	54
Feb 2021	23	24	2	49
Mar 2021	30	30	1	61
Apr 2021	32	39	1	72
May 2021	39	24	0	63
Jun 2021	13	17	3	33
Jul 2021	15	14	3	32
Aug 2021	28	16	0	44
Sep 2021	20	18	1	39
Oct 2021	18	34	0	52
Nov 2021	26	45	2	73
Dec 2021	15	40	2	57
Jan 2022	23	30	3	56
Feb 2022	16	30	3	49
Mar 2022	25	27	1	53
Apr 2022	8	18	0	26
May 2022	15	20	5	40
Jun 2022	13	11	2	26
Jul 2022	11	9	0	20
Aug 2022	26	21	2	49
Sep 2022	69	70	0	139
Oct 2022	51	32	2	85
Nov 2022	27	32	3	62
Dec 2022	40	23	0	63
Jan 2023	27	32	1	60
Feb 2023	18	21	1	40
Mar 2023	40	39	2	81
Apr 2023	12	31	1	44
May 2023	3	18	0	21
Jun 2023	11	10	0	21
Jul 2023	8	12	0	20
Aug 2023	12	17	2	31
Sep 2023	9	6	1	16
Oct 2023	22	9	2	33
Nov 2023	10	4	3	17
Dec 2023	19	17	0	36
Jan 2024	21	26	1	48
Feb 2024	20	41	0	61
Mar 2024	11	18	1	30
Apr 2024	40	25	4	69
May 2024	42	23	4	69
Jun 2024	42	20	1	63
Jul 2024	24	15	4	43
Aug 2024	45	14	5	64
Sep 2024	17	16	0	33
Oct 2024	22	14	1	37
Nov 2024	17	28	1	46
Dec 2024	25	42	1	68
Jan 2025	35	28	3	66
Feb 2025	39	20	3	62
Mar 2025	37	20	1	58
Apr 2025	37	19	0	56
May 2025	47	24	3	74
Jun 2025	80	15	0	95
Jul 2025	160	20	1	181
Aug 2025	51	47	3	101
Sep 2025	51	26	1	78
Oct 2025	70	38	4	112
Nov 2025	28	29	0	57

Latest update: 14 Nov 2025

Short summary

During the last 45 years, about 100 people lost their lives in avalanches in the European Alps each year. Avalanche fatalities in settlements and on transportation corridors have considerably decreased since the 1970s. In contrast, the number of avalanche fatalities during recreational activities away from avalanche-secured terrain doubled between the 1960s and 1980s and has remained relatively stable since, despite a continuing strong increase in winter backcountry recreational activities.