Brains
Freeride legend Xavier De Le Rue is sounding the alarm after an avalanche swept through a heavily trafficked area in Verbier last Friday the 13th—part of a deadly stretch of days that showed firsthand just how unstable the Alpine snowpack remains this winter. In a widely shared social media post, De Le Rue described the slide occurring on what many riders consider the most coveted conditions: a sunny powder day immediately after a storm.
“When are people gonna understand that the ‘magical day’ is NOT the sunny pow day right after the storm?” he wrote. “That day is a GIANT TRAP.”
According to De Le Rue, the avalanche released on one of the resort’s most commonly ridden off-piste lines after a storm cycle had deposited significant new snow. Five people were buried in the slide but were rescued without fatalities.
The incident came the same day as a separate avalanche near Val d’Isère that killed three people, and just days before another deadly slide that killed 3 near Courmayeur, bringing Europe’s avalanche death toll this winter to roughly 75—one of the highest mid-season totals in recent years. Avalanche bulletins across much of the western Alps had rated danger 4 out of 5 (High) at the time, warning that natural avalanches were likely and that human-triggered slides were very probable on many slopes. The instability followed weeks of heavy snowfall, strong winds, and persistent weak layers buried deep in the snowpack.
De Le Rue said the combination of perfect weather and fresh powder often creates a psychological hazard as dangerous as the snow itself.
“Powder makes everyone lose their mind. FOMO. Stress. People ready to step on each other just to be first in the gondola in the holy quest for the first track,” he wrote, describing scenes of hundreds of riders crowding lift lines that morning.
He also warned that continued risky behavior could have long-term consequences for the freeride community.
“If we keep going like this, what we’re gonna get is legislation that shuts freeriding down for everyone,” he wrote.
Avalanche forecasters continue to stress that the period immediately after storms—particularly the first clear, sunny day—is often among the most dangerous times in the mountains, as fresh snow loads unstable layers while improved visibility draws large numbers of riders into high-risk terrain. The people have the powder, the good weather, and the froth; but they often lack the restraint to make patient, safe, well-balanced avalanche decisions—it’s perfect recipe for disaster.
With winter only halfway through and the snowpack across much of the Alps still dangerously fragile, heeding caution will be essential in the weeks ahead.
