Is This Europe's Deadliest Avalanche Season?
As winter reaches it’s peak across the northern hemisphere, so does avalanche season. While sadly, avalanche deaths are something that impact the winter sports community every year, this year has been particularly deadly, especially across the Alps.
In the last week, two major storms have moved through the Alps, dropping significant amounts of snow. After a prolonged dry spell in November, a persistent weak layer formed in many areas. When loaded with heavy, new snowfall and combined with strong winds, these weak layers are a critical piece of the puzzle for bad avalanche conditions.
Major avalanche events have impacted areas all over Europe, with France, Switzerland, and Italy seeing the most impact, and caused more than 100 avalanche-related deaths over the 2025/26 ski season. It’s tough to say whether it’s just a particularly bad year for avalanche conditions due to the snowpack or if it has to do with a rise in backcountry and off-piste users during a dangerous period.
Here are some of the most significant avalanche events in Europe over the last month. POWDER extends our deepest condolences to all those impacted by these avalanche related deaths.
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Flégère, Chamonix, France
A size D3 avalanche popped above the Floria T-bar at French ski resort Flègére in Chamonix on February 24. The slide crossed from steep, off-piste terrain onto multiple groomed runs at the ski area, prompting a mass emergency response from ski patrollers and first responders. Three skier were reportedly caught in the slide and injured but no one was killed.
Valais, Switzerland
On February 16, five people were injured after an avalanche derailed a train traveling through Switzerland, near the village of Goppenstein. An avalanche warning had been issued in the area earlier that morning. An initial investigation suggested that an avalanche hit a section of the train tracks at the exit of the Lotschberg tunnel shortly before the train crossed. The train was derailed as it exited the tunnel by avalanche debris. Passengers were stranded for about two hours before being evacuated from the train.
Couloir Vesses, Courmayeur, Italy
A massive slide swept through Italian ski area, Courmayeur on February 15, 2026. Three skiers descending the Couloir Vesses in the upper Val Veny area, near the border of France and Switzerland were caught in the slide. Two of the skiers died on scene and one was transported to a local hospital, but later succumbed to their injuries.
Manchet Valley, Val d’Isere, France
Four skiers were caught and three killed in an avalanche in the French Alps on February 13, 2026. Two of the victims were skiing off-piste with a group led by an instructor in the Manchet Valley, near Val d’Isere, France when another skier triggered the slide from above. The last skier buried was alone and not part of the group. All victims were reportedly equipped with avalanche gear. A storm the day before had dropped 60-100cm of snow on the area, prompting France’s national weather service to issue a red alert for avalanche risk in the region.
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