The freeriders from Austria and Germany were either able to free themselves from the snow or were dug out by their comrades. At the time of the accident, the avalanche warning level was 4 out of 5. All those involved were unharmed, the Upper Austrian police reported.
At around 11:00 a.m., the nine winter sports enthusiasts were out and about in several small groups in the open ski area near the entrance to the “Angeralm” variant descent. Due to the large additional load, a medium-sized slab of snow was released in the extremely steep, northeast-facing hand. One of the skiers was able to stay above the edge, the other eight were swept away. Five participants remained on the surface of the avalanche and were able to free themselves independently, two men were able to deploy the avalanche airbag backpack in time and were only partially buried.
A 31-year-old man from Germany was unable to activate his airbag backpack in time and was completely buried. Only one hand was visible on the snow surface. His comrades immediately rushed to the victim and were able to rescue him unharmed from the slab of snow within a few minutes.
Two of the affected skiers lost their skis in the avalanche and had to walk up to the mountain station, the other seven men skied down to the valley together. All freeriders were experienced and equipped for the open ski area, the police reported. According to the avalanche report from the state of Upper Austria, there was a high risk of avalanches at the affected altitude and slope at the time of the accident (danger level 4 of 5).
Source: Nachrichten
