An Austrian news site has an article about the aftermath of a severe Avalanche accident that took place January 2005 in St. Anton.
The article (in German) reports that the ski-instructor who led a group of skiers off-piste has now been sentenced in court, 1.5 years after the incident.
Although he was not officially working but just touring with friends he was considered responsible. (He pleaded guilty to misjudging the situation and the avalanche risk.)
At the time of this particular incident I was on the same mountain but on the other side (around the corner as it were).
The last remaining victim was found after several months when the snow receded.
Comments
Author: Willem
Date: 2006-06-17 03:41:54
I read the German article about the avalanche accident at Rendl on Jan, 22nd last year and of course the fact that people died is terrible.
The question however is: which level of risk is acceptable to have fun and who’s accountable for it? Now, the blame is on the instructor and that’s logical. When somebody is not familiar with the local terrain he or she (when wise) tends to rely on the knowledge of a local expert. In this individual case it turned out very, very wrong and personally I think that this tragic loss of lives could have been prevented. I think that Wener Munter’s 3x3 method (http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/trails/1996/3x3.html) could have saved lives.
I realize that this is an evaluation and therefore it’s (too) easy for me to judge. On the other side; on Wednesday, May 31st the A2 highway in Switzerland was struck by a rockslide. It crushed a German-registered car and killed two people. Who could have prevented this? The TCS (Swiss AAA)? Was the situation “status 4” and did someone decide to “downgrade” the risk?
Only hours after it was reopened on Friday, the motorway had to be closed again after more rocks plunged down the mountainside between the villages of Amsteg and Göschenen. Luckily the second time nobody was injured, but what if….
There’s risk everywhere !
Author: Hugo
Date: 2006-06-19 12:08:17
Hi Willem, I remember you were there that day and I adviced you not to go to the area where the avalanche took place. (But you had already decided that for yourself as well.) All ski instructors from our (local) skischool knew not to go to that area on that day. The instructor in question was from another town.What we read in this article is just the legal wrapup of a terrible accident. This is what happens after everything goes horribly wrong. Next to the legal implications there are also the emotional and social implications for all involved.
If no instructor was involved in the accident, the legal implications might have been slightly different but the other effects would have been similar.
A lot of educating remains to be done and that is why I wanted to draw attention to this case.
On the positive side: I do see a trend in St. Anton that the use of the proper equipment (not only beacons but also backpack, shovel & probe) is on the rise.