“Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous,” said the great Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner. Once again this year, events have proven him right. Harsh weather has triggered deadly avalanches around Lake Tahoe in California, as well as across the Alps in Europe.

According to figures from France’s National Mountain Safety Observation System (SNOSM), fatal accidents at ski resorts typically range between eight and 14 deaths per year, depending on the season.

Yet by February this year, those averages had already been far exceeded. Despite major progress in avalanche prevention — a practice that UNESCO has recognized since 2018 as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage — avalanches still claim lives.

This particularly dramatic season can be explained by the unstable structure of snowpack, but also by a flawed perception of risk among some skiers and snowboarders, who often trigger avalanches themselves.

The allure of off-piste: freedom, powder and adrenaline

Every winter, skiers venture beyond marked runs, sometimes at the cost of their lives. Not all of them are reckless or inexperienced. Many are experienced, properly equipped with avalanche safety gear — a transceiver, shovel and probe — and are well aware of the dangers. And yet, they still choose to head “off-piste.”

So why do they take the risk, despite repeated warnings from professionals? Off-piste skiing holds a powerful appeal, whether just beyond resort........

© The Conversation - FR