Switzerland records below-average number of avalanche deaths

There were ten fatalities in nine avalanche incidents in the Swiss Alps - well below the 20-year average of 19 fatalities. Keystone-SDA

Ten people died in avalanches in the Swiss Alps last winter, according to the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF). This is below the average for the past 20 years.

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Between October 1, 2024, and April 14, 2025, a total of 172 avalanches were reported that caused damage, either to people or property, SLF said on Tuesday. Of these, 156 were triggered by humans.

A total of 216 people were caught up in an avalanche. This was slightly above the average of the last 20 years (205 people). There were ten fatalities in nine avalanche incidents – well below the 20-year average of 19 fatalities.

The SLF said the low number of victims may be due to various factors: there were no accidents with large numbers of fatalities, avalanches were mostly small and therefore less dangerous than in previous years, and “good luck”. Another reason may be that the rescue operations for people trapped in avalanches went well, it said.

SLF said there were 21 avalanches that caused damage to properties last winter – well below the annual average of the last 20 years (84 avalanches by the end of September). However, the complete record of property damage is not available until the end of September 2025.

Lack of snow in Swiss Alps

The winter of 2024/2025 was one of the ten mildest since measurements began in 1864. There was little snow in the Swiss Alps, particularly in the eastern region. This was mainly due to low precipitation between November 2024 and April 2025 in most of the Swiss Alps.

The SLF said there were two early onsets of winter in autumn 2024. The first was at the beginning of October in mountain regions above 3,000 metres, where it snowed “repeatedly” during the rainy and cloudy month. At lower altitudes, on the other hand, it mostly rained.

The second was during November 19-22 when “an extraordinary amount” of snow fell in the west and north down to low altitudes, according to the report. It snowed repeatedly in December, leading to a “white Christmas”.

Overall, the winter was characterised by “well below average” snow depths throughout Switzerland due to low precipitation. In mid-April, for example, there was only 121cm of snow on the Weissfluhjoch measuring field above Davos; the normal average figure would be almost double (218cm). According to SLF, the last time there was such little snow was in April 1972.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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