Unpathy on the Rimpfischhorn: Police photo shows a possible crash site

Five ski tour drivers were found dead on Saturday on the foot of the Rimpfischhorn in the Zermatt region on Saturday. The rescue workers discovered three corpses on a avalanche cone, around 500 meters of altitude below the saddle. 200 meters of altitude above were found on a small snow surface, two more crashes were found.

According to initial investigations, the five alpinists left the Britannia Hut to climb the Rimpfischhorn at around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, as the Valais cantonal police announced on Monday evening. After taking a ski pot, they continue their tour on foot in the direction of the summit. In the further course they were said to have been grasped by a snowboard and plunged into the depths. Three of the victims could be identified in the meantime. These are two men aged 38 and 35 and a 34-year-old woman. All three are Swiss citizens.

It wasn’t the only avalanche accident on Saturday. On the Morgenhorn in the Bernese Oberland, three men were spilled during a avalanche. Two men were flown to the hospital with minor injuries, a 29-year-old Swiss could only be recovered dead.

It is very exceptional that so many fatal avalanche accidents occurred in May, says Célia Lucas from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos. « On average over 20 years, there was less than one avalanche victim in May. » In May of the past two years there were four avalanche note. This year significantly more: « If the accident on the Rimpfischhorn is seen as an avalanche accident, of which we are based on the current level of knowledge, we are currently with eleven avalanche victims in May, » says Lucas.

Winter has brought little snow

Where does this extraordinary accumulation come from shortly before the start of the summer? The amounts of snow were rather modest this winter. « In general, one can say that little snow is often more dangerous than a lot of snow, since with little snow and longer break breasts can form more pronounced weak layers, » says Lucas. Snow-weak layers are soft and coarse-grained and can slide easily.

Nevertheless, the avalanche situation should be observed in the mountains, especially with fresh snow, the SLF writes. Otherwise there can easily be such serious accidents as on weekends. « In skiing tours you often move in extreme terrain, in which even a smaller avalanche can already have serious consequences, » says Lucas.