Overview
- Police in Switzerland said a 53-year-old Irish tourist died overnight after being swept up in a January 13 avalanche near Ovronnaz and hospitalized in Sion.
- A man in his thirties died on January 19 in the Lavancher couloir at Val d’Isère after rescuers found him about 15 minutes post-burial but could not resuscitate him.
- Authorities had earlier reported eight deaths in one day in Austria, including three Czech skiers in Styria’s Murtal district and four off-piste skiers in the Pongau region, with another ski tourer in the same area pronounced dead.
- Local officials, including the Haute-Savoie prefecture, caution that avalanche danger remains elevated, with a marked level reported in several massifs above 2,200 meters.
- Rescue leaders such as Pongau’s Gerhard Kremser stress that numerous avalanches are occurring despite repeated warnings, underscoring continuing risk across the Alps.