The Italian Alps are not the place to be this season.
A harsh winter has ravaged the Northern Hemisphere with heavy snowfall and record low temperatures.
And no fewer than thirteen backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers have died in the Italian mountains in the past week.
This includes 10 deaths in avalanches caused by “an exceptionally unstable snowpack.”
At least five people have been killed after three separate avalanches wiped out 11 mountain climbers and skiers in the Italian Alps this weekend. #avalanche #Alps #ItalianAlps #mountaineer #skier pic.twitter.com/Ig1E8LoATC
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) February 8, 2026
Associated press reported:
“Fresh snowfall during recent storms and wind-swept snowcaps on weak internal layers have created particularly risky conditions along the entire Alpine crescent bordering France, Switzerland and Austria, Italian mountain rescuers said.
“Under such conditions, the passage of a single skier, or natural overload due to the weight of the snow, can be enough to trigger an avalanche,” said Federico Catania, spokesman for the Italian Alpine Rescue Corps.
SKI TRAGEDY 🚨: Two people killed after devastating avalanche in the region near the site of the Winter Olympics. #skiing #WinterOlympics #Italy #foxweather pic.twitter.com/giI6EnQH4S
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) February 8, 2026
“The avalanche deaths occurred on unprepared slopes, far away from well-maintained and monitored Olympic venues in Lombardy on the Swiss border and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Veneto, as well as cross-country skiing in Val di Fiemme in the autonomous province of Trentino.
“There is no risk to people skiing in managed ski areas, and in particular no risk to the Olympic venues,” Catania said. ‘All these areas are continuously monitored and are generally safe regardless of the Olympic events’.”
Three people have been killed by avalanches in northern Italy.
Reuters reported, citing Italian officials, that conditions in the Alps remain unstable and the number of casualties could rise.#TOLOnews_English pic.twitter.com/vFMMlS0wWj
— TOLOnews English (@TOLONewsEngels) February 7, 2026
Read more:
DEATH AT THE TOP: Climber charged with manslaughter after allegedly letting his girlfriend freeze to death on Austria’s highest mountain
#DEADLY #PEAKS #skiers #climbers #hikers #died #Italian #mountains #week #Gateway #Expert #Paul #Serran