Italy Records 38 Avalanche Deaths This Winter as Alpine Fatalities Double Across Europe

The European Avalanche Warning Services has confirmed that avalanche fatalities across the Alps and other European mountain ranges reached 136 deaths during the 2025–2026 winter season, now concluded. The toll nearly doubled from the previous year and marks one of the deadliest winters on record. For residents and mountain enthusiasts in Italy, the figures carry particular weight: the country registered 38 fatalities—the highest count in Europe this season and Italy's worst avalanche death toll in six years.

Why This Matters:

• Record toll: 136 avalanche deaths this winter across Europe, up from 70 the year before—an increase of 94%.

• Italy leads fatalities: 38 victims this season, the most in Europe, followed by France with 32 and Austria with 30.

• Worst since 2017–18: You must go back to winter 2017–18 to find a deadlier season, when 147 people perished.

• Single deadliest event: A November avalanche on Cima Vertana in the Ortles group killed five German climbers, the season's most fatal incident.

What Drove the Surge in Deaths

The brutal toll reflects a dangerous convergence of meteorological instability and structural flaws within the snowpack. Throughout the season, persistent weak layers formed deep in the snow. Temperature differences between warm ground (around 0°C) and cold surface snow (-5°C to -20°C) created weak, poorly bonded ice crystals deep in the snowpack—a fragile foundation that would later become unstable. These fragile layers persisted for weeks and became ticking time bombs once heavy snowfall arrived.

Abundant late-November and mid-February storms deposited fresh snow directly onto these weak strata, creating ideal conditions for large slab avalanches. Strong winds compounded the problem, transporting snow into gullies and lee slopes where it piled into unstable masses. When temperatures spiked in February—reaching near-freezing conditions even at 3,000 meters altitude, unusually warm for winter—the snowpack destabilized further, triggering spontaneous avalanches even on previously stable slopes.

Climate forecasters had flagged the season as potentially volatile, influenced by a weak La Niña event in the Pacific and a strong polar vortex disruption. January 2026 brought exceptional atmospheric conditions: record cold gripped parts of Europe while extreme rains pounded the Mediterranean, creating highly unstable snow conditions across Alpine regions, including Italy.

The Cima Vertana Tragedy

The season's deadliest single avalanche struck on the afternoon of November 1, 2025, on the north face of Cima Vertana in the Ortles massif, South Tyrol. Seven German climbers divided into three rope teams were ascending when a medium-sized dry slab avalanche released around 4:00 PM at an altitude between 3,200 and 3,500 meters. The slab, roughly 20 cm thick and breaking on slopes angled near 45 degrees, swept through the upper snowfield.

Three climbers were completely buried and recovered dead that same afternoon. Two others in a second team survived, but a father and his 17-year-old daughter remained missing until their bodies were found the next morning. Two injured survivors were airlifted to a hospital in Bolzano. A third rope team narrowly escaped the debris and managed to raise the alarm.

Investigators from Lawinen.report in the Euregio Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino region conducted a snowpack analysis and determined the avalanche was likely triggered by a combination of fresh snow, high winds, and humid air masses that formed a cohesive surface slab not yet bonded to older layers beneath. Despite moderate avalanche danger ratings that day, the late-afternoon timing—climbers were still ascending well into the evening—raised questions among experts. The public prosecutor opened a manslaughter investigation, standard procedure in Italy for fatal mountain accidents. Cima Vertana's steep couloirs and narrow passages are notorious for amplifying avalanche force.

What You Should Do Before Your Next Mountain Trip

For those living in Italy's alpine regions or planning backcountry excursions, the 2025–26 season has underscored the limits of traditional avalanche forecasting when persistent weak layers are hidden deep in the snowpack. Even experienced alpinists were caught off guard. The lesson: do not rely solely on danger ratings. Consult detailed snowpack analysis, understand the specific avalanche problem types listed in bulletins, and avoid suspect terrain even when the official rating is moderate.

Where to Access Avalanche Information in Italy:

The Italian National Association for Snow and Avalanche Studies (AINEVA) operates the primary avalanche bulletin service for Italy. Their updated app offers optimized cartography and standardized danger descriptions in five languages, making it easier to interpret complex bulletins on the go. The app highlights prevalent avalanche scenarios—such as persistent weak layers or wind slabs—and provides next-day forecasts. You can access bulletins through:

• AINEVA's official app (available on iOS and Android)

• Bollettini Valanghe (regional avalanche bulletin websites for your specific area)

• Mountain guide associations and alpine clubs, which often provide localized briefings before group outings

Make checking avalanche bulletins a habit before every outing, not an afterthought.

Authorities continue to stress the mandatory safety trio: avalanche transceiver (ARTVA), probe, and shovel. Yet gear alone is insufficient. Training in snowpack assessment, route selection, and companion rescue remains critical. Several alpine clubs and mountain guide associations in Italy now offer subsidized avalanche safety courses following the season's toll. Organizations like the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) and regional mountain guide federations can direct you to accredited instructors in your area.

How Prevention Systems Are Evolving

In response to the grim numbers, avalanche warning services across the Alps are pushing technological and methodological upgrades. The Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) and ETH Zurich have successfully deployed hybrid VTOL drones—vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—that can map snow deposits in complex terrain 60% faster than traditional methods. With operational ranges exceeding 50 km, a single drone sortie can now survey multiple avalanche paths, enabling rapid, large-scale monitoring after major storms.

The LoRa Snow project is pioneering a low-power wireless system integrated into drones to extend the detection range of buried avalanche transceivers. By pairing ARTVA devices with Long Range (LoRa) radio technology, rescue teams could establish initial contact with buried victims from much greater distances, dramatically shortening search times and improving survival odds.

Managed ski areas in Italy, such as the Monterosa Ski resort, continue to use active avalanche control—deploying explosives via helicopter-mounted systems or ground charges—to trigger slides before they threaten skiers. But the vast majority of this season's fatalities occurred in unmanaged backcountry terrain, where no such safeguards exist.

The European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS), which has coordinated risk assessment standards for over 35 years, is conducting surveys to improve public comprehension of danger scales and terminology. The goal is to close the gap between expert knowledge and user interpretation, ensuring that recreationists grasp not just the number on a five-point scale but the underlying snowpack dynamics.

Looking Ahead

The 136 deaths this winter serve as a sobering reminder that climate volatility—swinging temperatures, erratic precipitation, and atmospheric instability—can conspire to create snowpack conditions that defy historical patterns. For Italy, which has seen growing numbers of ski mountaineers and freeriders venturing into the backcountry, the risk calculus has shifted. Education, technology, and vigilance must keep pace with enthusiasm.

As spring consolidates the remaining snowpack and the season concludes, mountain rescue services across the Alps are conducting debriefs and refining protocols. The hope is that lessons learned this winter—about persistent weak layers, the importance of timely bulletins, and the limits of human judgment—will translate into fewer casualties next season. For now, the numbers stand as a stark testament to the unforgiving power of snow and gravity in the high peaks of Europe.