The mountains around Tyrol were unusually quiet at the start of winter 2025–26. Snow was scarce, temperatures mild, and backcountry skiers were picking their way around rocks rather than powder. It was, by Alpine standards, a false peace.
What followed across the tri-nation Alpine region of Tyrol, South Tyrol, and Trentino — known collectively as the Euregio — was one of the most lethal avalanche seasons in recent memory. By the time the final bulletin was issued on May 2, 40 people had been killed and 34 injured across 62 avalanche incidents spanning Tyrol, South Tyrol, and Trentino. The toll mirrors a wider pattern across Europe, where avalanche deaths surged far beyond recent norms.
Across Europe, 146 people died in avalanches this season — more than double last year’s total and 40% above the 20-year average. The Euregio alone accounted for roughly 27% of those deaths. Sadly, the Euregio region — the cross-border territory shared by Austria’s Tyrol, Italy’s South Tyrol, and the autonomous province of Trentino — followed the same trajectory seen across the western Alps.
Why This Winter Was So Dangerous
The season’s danger came down to a familiar but deadly pattern: a weak early snowpack followed by heavy snowfall. The early winter created an unstable base layer — the “Altschneeproblem” (old snow problem) — across much of the region. When storms arrived in January and February, new snow loaded onto that fragile foundation, resetting instability rather than stabilizing it.
Patrick Nairz, head of Tyrol’s avalanche warning service, described a prolonged stretch where classic red flags — spontaneous releases, cracking, settling, and remote triggering — were constant. This was not a uniquely Tyrolean problem. Across the Alps, a weak early-season snowpack laid the groundwork for months of instability. When winter storms finally arrived, they didn’t heal the snowpack — they amplified its weaknesses.
The Numbers
Of the Euregio’s 40 fatalities:
- Tyrol recorded 18 deaths and 27 injuries across 36 incidents
- South Tyrol recorded 16 deaths and five injuries across 17 incidents
- Trentino recorded six deaths and two injuries across nine incidents
The contrast with the previous winter is stark. In 2024–25, just 11 people died across the entire Euregio region. This season’s toll of 40 is nearly four times higher. Around 90% of those killed were men.
The sustained danger levels reflect the severity of the season. Danger level 4 (“high”) was declared on 19 separate days. Between February 16 and 25, that level held for 10 consecutive days. From January 25 to March 7 — a span of 32 straight days — danger level 3 (“considerable”) remained in place.
Human-triggered avalanches also surged, with more than 500 recorded this season compared to around 200 the previous winter.
9.1 Million Forecast Checks — and 40 Deaths
The website visitation numbers tell an even deeper story. The Euregio Avalanche Report on lawinen.report was consulted a record 9.1 million times this season — up from 5.7 million last winter and around five million the year before. That 60% surge suggests a public paying attention, actively trying to make informed decisions.
And yet, 40 people still died.
That gap — between checking the forecast and correctly interpreting what it means for the specific slope you’re about to ski — is one of the most important safety challenges in the modern backcountry.
This is not a failure of information. The Euregio bulletin is widely regarded as one of the most sophisticated avalanche warning systems in the world. It is, more likely, a failure of interpretation: the distance between a regional danger rating and a personal decision made on a specific aspect, at a specific elevation, on a specific day.
This season’s snowpack was particularly unforgiving in that regard. Persistent weak layers are notoriously difficult to assess in the field. A slope can appear stable — no cracking, no “whoumpfing,” no obvious red flags — and still be primed to release.
Experienced skiers were caught out. People who had checked the forecast that morning were caught out.
That is not a reason for blame. It is a reason for humility.
Bridging the Gap
What might help? Avalanche educators increasingly point to the gap between hazard awareness and terrain management. Knowing the danger level is high is one thing; understanding which specific terrain to avoid is another.
More emphasis on real-world decision-making, structured frameworks like the Avalanche Triangle, and continued development of site-specific forecasting — already being piloted in parts of Europe — could all help close that gap.
The record engagement with the avalanche report is, in its own way, a hopeful sign — people are paying attention. But this season made one thing clear: information alone is not enough.
The future of avalanche safety will depend not just on better forecasts, but on closing the gap between knowing the danger and recognizing it on the slope in front of you.
