According to the study “Sport Schweiz 2020”, more and more people are devoting themselves to ski or snowboard touring, an activity that promises unique winter moments. The number of ski tourers has more than doubled since 2014, to 3.4 per cent of the Swiss population. The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU) warns about the dangers.

Avalanche awareness

On average, 19 people die every year on a ski tour in Switzerland. The main reason for this is avalanches (66 per cent). By comparison, an average of five people die when skiing or snowboarding on slopes that are protected from avalanches. This is despite the fact that these two sports are practised by many more people in this country than ski touring (skiing 34.9 per cent of the Swiss population, snowboarding 5.3 per cent).

Ski touring is demanding, and there are hardly any marked and secured routes in Switzerland. People are therefore responsible for assessing the avalanche risk themselves. Knowledge of avalanche awareness and thorough planning are inidispensible for a safe tour. This knowledge can be acquired in courses, for example. Inexperienced ski tourers best join a group under the guidance of an avalanche expert.

Web app for planning

The BFU-supported web app skitourenguru.ch is a tool that facilitates and supports preparations for a tour. The app assesses the avalanche risk of thousands of ski tours in the entire Alpine region based on the current avalanche bulletin, the terrain and other factors. A simple traffic light system shows the risk of the planned tour and thus helps to choose a tour with low risk.

BASED ON AVS