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Infrastructure

Act: recommendations, measures, and communication channels

05.12.2025 Under certain conditions, avalanches can pose such a high level of risk to people and property that the implementation of measures becomes necessary. The

How avalanche commissions work | snow.institute

Infrastructure

Working methods of avalanche commissions

05.12.2025 Avalanche commissions produce local, evidence‑based risk assessments using a workflow that consists of the steps ‘perceive’, ‘assess’ and ‘act’, integrating daily monitoring with targeted

Avalanche commission carrying out an assessment in the field © Land Tirol, Hörmann | snow.institute

Infrastructure

Assess: reference scenarios, threshold values, operational limits, and uncertainties

05.12.2025 Commission members perform risk assessments by leveraging their technical expertise to identify typical avalanche problems and reference scenarios, applying a decision-making process that provides

Perceive: Collecting data and creating observations | snow.institute

Infrastructure

Perceive: using data and doing observations

05.12.2025 Effective avalanche risk management relies on situational awareness, involving data analysis (e.g. weather, maps, bulletins…) and field observation (e.g. local condition, terrain, snow profiles…)

Infrastructure

Acceptable and residual risk

05.12.2025 Moving from the illusion of total safety to pragmatic mitigation, managing acceptable and residual risk in avalanche zones. snow-arrow-down-black This article is about: 01

Infrastructure

Avalanche Commissions vs. Avalanche Warning

05.12.2025 Regional forecasting and local risk assessment complement each other: warning services analyse the general avalanche danger while commissions manage specific local risks. snow-arrow-down-black This

Val Salei (Trentino) - ©A. Gasperi | snow.institute

Infrastructure

Understanding risk, hazard, danger, vulnerability and exposure

05.12.2025 Avalanche commissions operate within the civil protection framework, managing risk, defined by its components hazard, exposure and vulnerability, as opposed to avalanche danger, which

School

Avalanche basics: avalanche types and trigger factors

Humans have been exposed to the danger of avalanches ever since the Alpine habitat was colonized. Avalanches are gravity-driven mass movements that pose a potential danger as a result of meteorological conditions.

© Vermiglio (TN)-2009-Protezione Civile PAT | snow.institute

Infrastructure

Avalanche commissions as part of the disaster resilience

05.12.2025 Avalanche commissions play a fundamental role in the resilience of communities living in mountain areas, helping to prevent risks, assess and monitor potentially critical

What happens in the event of an avalanche accident? © snow Institute I LWD Tirol

Backcountry

Avalanche accident – that’s why companion rescue is crucial

The typical skier avalanche is around 50-70 meters wide and has about three times the flow length. The fracture depth (also called break-off depth) is on average around half a meter.

Teaching material

Snow and avalanches

All Levels 13.11.2025 Arrow Down White Contents 01 Snow cover snowpack 02 Avalanche types 03 Avalanche danger and avalanche forecast 04 Avalanche problems 05 Danger

Backcountry

How do you check your emergency equipment?

As soon as the first snow falls, the motto is: grab your skis or board and make the first tracks of the season in the snow on the glacier or in the backcountry. Those who

Backcountry

Equipment for freeriders

Skiers and snowboarders who are out and about in the open ski area must be well prepared and equipped with the necessary equipment to minimize their risk and be able to act in an emergency.

Backcountry

Avalanche emergency : first aid for avalanche accidents

More than half of all people involved in avalanche incidents suffer no or only minor injuries. Around 32 percent of the people involved are seriously injured, and the death rate of people who are buried (regardless of the burial depth) is around 13 percent.

School

Physical properties of snow

Snow is a form of frozen water. It consists of many small ice crystals that form into snowflakes.

School

Courses for school classes

Pupils who live in the Alpine region should have the opportunity to complete avalanche courses or winter sports safety days.

Teaching material

Equipment for freeriders

Skiers and snowboarders who are out and about in the open ski area must be well prepared and equipped with the necessary equipment to minimize their risk and be able to act in an emergency.

All Levels

First aid in an emergency situation

First aid for injured persons is based on the priority principle. One of the most important measures, and one that everyone should and can take, is to call for professional help – in other words, to make an emergency call.

Teaching material

Worksheets: All about snow

Snow is an exciting and unique material and we want children and young people to learn more about it and share their fascination with us.

Teaching material

Quiz: Natural hazard avalanche

04.11.2024 Contents These crossword puzzles consolidate the knowledge you have learned about the basics of the natural hazard of avalanches (presentation on the basics of

Teaching material

Photo rally for the ski slope

Piste 13.11.2025 Contents Pupils carefully explore the ski area and playfully learn about the limits in the ski area, possible dangers and important sources of

Teaching material

Worksheets: Natural hazard avalanche

Snow is an exciting and unique material and we want children and young people to learn more about it and share their fascination with us.

Teaching material

Experiments: Discovering snow

Snow is an exciting and unique material and we want children and young people to learn more about it and share their fascination with us.

Teaching material

Checklist: Freeride equipment

Skiers and snowboarders who are out and about in the open ski area must be well prepared and equipped with the necessary equipment to minimize their risk and be able to act in an emergency.

Teaching material

Checklist: Equipment for the ski week/ski day

With a little background knowledge and practice, every student can learn valuable measures to provide assistance on the ski slope in an emergency.

Teaching material

Puzzle rally: 10 FIS rules for the ski slope

Piste 04.11.2024 Contents The 10 rules of conduct for skiers and snowboarders regulate how to get along on the slopes. This puzzle rally is ideal

Teaching material

Emergency on the ski slope

With a little background knowledge and practice, every student can learn valuable measures to provide assistance on the ski slope in an emergency.

Backcountry

Avalanche emergency: search for buried victims

If you are caught in an avalanche, you are a passenger and your life is in potential danger. Independent rescue and rescue attempts may be successful, but in most cases you will be dependent on the help of others.

Backcountry

Facts, figures and data

More than half of all people involved in avalanche incidents suffer no or only minor injuries. Around 32 percent of the people involved suffer serious injuries, while the fatality rate of people caught (regardless of burial depth) is around 13 percent.

All Levels

What is an avalanche bulletin?

An avalanche bulletin is a publication by the avalanche warning services that contains detailed information on the current state of the snow cover snowpack, its development for the next day and the resulting avalanche danger.

Piste

10 rules for the ski slope

The 10 rules of conduct for skiers & snowboarders regulate how to get along on the slopes.

Teaching material

Risk-conscious freeriding 2

Can I ski this line today or is it perhaps too dangerous after all? How do I even know where and whether there is avalanche danger or not?

Teaching material

Risk-conscious freeriding

Can I ski this line today or is it perhaps too dangerous after all? How do I even know where and whether there is avalanche danger or not?

Teaching material

Weather in the mountains: weather basics and important terms to understand the weather report

In order to be safe in the mountains, a sound knowledge of the weather and the most common terms in the weather forecast are essential.

Teaching material

From avalanche danger to avalanche risk…and why it depends on the terrain.

Freeriders should be aware of whether and what dangers are or could be present when skiing in the open ski area and how to manage their personal risk when freeriding.

Teaching material

The difference between secured and unsecured ski areas

This document deals with where the secured ski area ends and the unsecured, i.e. free ski area begins.

Teaching material

Physical properties of snow – Part 2

Snow is an exciting and unique material and we want children and young people to learn more about it and share their fascination with us.

Teaching material

Avalanche Emergency

In order to be able to help in a worst-case scenario – i.e. an avalanche accident with buried and/or injured people – it is important to gain theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

Teaching material

Basic information about avalanches: avalanche types and trigger factors

This teaching document contains the basics on the subject of avalanches. It is a compilation of knowledge to arouse fascination and interest in children and young people for an important topic in the mountains.

All Levels

Weather basics and important terms to understand the weather report

In order to be safe in the mountains, a sound knowledge of the weather and the most common terms in the weather forecast are essential.

Avalanche basics: avalanche types and trigger factors

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