Avalanche
Three climbers were killed in an avalanche on Sunday, October 5, beneath Mount Tosc in Slovenia’s Julian Alps, a few kilometers south of the Austrian border. The group was part of a seven-member team making their descent when a massive slide struck shortly after 9 a.m., according to Slovenian mountain rescue services. Despite an extensive multi-agency search and rescue effort, the three missing climbers could only be found deceased.
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Rescue teams battled severe weather for nearly two days to reach the buried climbers. “The conditions were really challenging,” rescuers from the Jesenice Mountain Rescue Service said in a statement translated from Slovenian. “It was snowing, we were crawling through the snow at times, drenched in snow and sweat. The wind was blowing and people were shivering, struggling to keep going.”
More than 70 mountain rescuers from several Slovenian Rescue Service Organizations were involved in the search and rescue operation, assisted by rescue dogs and helicopters from the army and the police. One victim was recovered on Sunday afternoon; the remaining two were located Monday morning after dog teams searched the debris field at the base of the avalanche. Unfortunately, all help came too late.
The avalanche occurred after a period of heavy snow and strong winds blanketed the higher elevations of the Julian Alps, creating unstable conditions on steep, wind-loaded slopes. The rescue team described wading through chest-deep snow and narrowly escaping a secondary slide that roared down the same gully during the recovery operation. “Just when we located the first accident victim, the scream came: ‘Avalanche!’,” one rescuer recounted. The search had to be abandoned until conditions stabilized. On Monday, search efforts for the missing two climbers continued. A team of mountain rescuers was taken by Slovenian Police helicopter to the avalanche site and managed locate both hikers. Unfortunately, they were both pronounced dead at the site.
The victims were all from Croatia’s Dalmatian coast and were described by local media as experienced mountaineers. They included a 38-year-old father of two from Sveti Kajo, who was also a member of a Croatian mountaineering club and an active judo competitor, and two brothers from Kaštel, aged 31 and 26. The older brother had recently married; the younger had been planning his wedding. The group had spent the previous night at the Vodnikov dom mountain hut after summiting Mount Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak.
The group set off around 9 a.m. Sunday toward Tosc, ascending in a line spaced one to three meters apart. Police said the expedition had been carefully planned for two months, and that all participants had completed alpine training courses.
The Slovenian Mountain Rescue Service expressed deep condolences to the victims’ families and reminded hikers to take extreme caution in early-season conditions. “We are still collecting our thoughts with all this,” rescuers shared on social media. “Scenes and feelings are still very alive, and we will be thinking about them for a while. Think when, why and how you are going to the mountains — not because of us, but because of those who are waiting for you at home.”
Authorities said the avalanche risk in the area remains elevated due to fresh snow and variable temperatures. Access to higher terrain around Mount Tosc and Triglav National Park was temporarily restricted while safety assessments continued.
The images shared by the search and rescue organizations illustrate the incredible size, effort, manpower, and logistics that go into these search and rescue efforts. Our sincerest condolences to the friends and families of the deceased.
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