Lack of snow in the mountains: beware of falls and injuries!

“There is more ice, it is dangerous, and there are more helicopters too. “. Ambroise, a 23-year-old student, sums up his family ski vacation in the 3 Valleys (Alps) and it is not lost … Especially for his father. “The snow was bad, we didn’t see much. I put my skis on a bump that was a bit stiff, the left came off but not the right,” says Eric, who is in his fifties.

The result, nothing serious, just a tear. This resident of the Paris region is still part of the 14,278 accidents reported in French ski resorts as of February 23, 2023, according to the National System for Monitoring Safety in the Mountains (SNOSM). It is still a very preliminary assessment, as not all stations have transmitted their data yet.

“At the moment, there are no more accidents than last year at the same time, but we must take into account the lack of snow at the beginning of the season, which allowed only a partial opening of the ski areas and many closures in January,” deciphers Valerie Drug, SNOSM coordinator.

“Ability to stop two or three meters away”

Because this is the main characteristic of this winter in the mountains: the absence of snow. According to the latest report from Météo France, the Alps and Pyrenees have seen no significant snowfall since the end of January. “We have poor to very poor snowfall compared to normal. The Pyrenees have the most noticeable delay, especially at high altitude,” explains Cécile Coleu, mountain and snow specialist at Météo France.

The Alps are no exception. “At the Col de Port in Chartreuse, where 6 cm was recorded on February 22, we have reached the lowest level of snowfall since the start of the weather survey,” the expert notes. And it’s far from over, as with no fall expected, the snow should “continue its slow decline” in the coming days.

And the lack of snow, which strengthens the ski slopes, is one of the main causes of accidents. “Whoever says heavy snow says more time is needed to stop,” summarizes Philippe Janine, director of the Les Arcs (Alps) slope rescue service. And with an additional increase in resort attendance by 20% due to school holidays, the number of interventions increases. “We are also trying to intervene quickly to mark and close paths that are no longer passable. We must conduct preventive campaigns with two messages: be able to control your speed, stopping two or three meters away, and look far ahead to avoid collisions, ”says the rescuer.

“This is really a soup, even earthy”

On the ground, ski instructors and caregivers need to increase their vigilance. “I spend my time telling kids to be careful here and there. It doesn’t really calm me down from time to time, ”admits Colin, the organizer of summer camps. Present in Villar-de-Lance with a group of children aged 8-12 from Le Mans, the presenter admits that he “has many minor injuries, more than in other years, but not serious.” He especially regrets the bad conditions: “There are places where really cabbage soup, even dirt! »

Conditions that could lead to worse are seen daily by the hospitals closest to the slopes. Jean-Jacques Banihashemi, Head of Trauma Emergency at the University Hospital of Grenoble, described the current situation in the midst of the winter holidays in front of the France Bleu Isère microphone as “catastrophic”: “The snow is very heavy, we are almost in spring. snow: very hard snow in the morning and more soup in the afternoon. So, when falling, of course, patients are injured. (…) This year, the number of hip fractures among young people is impressive. »

In similar snow conditions last winter, there were notably 49,622 ski runs in France, up 13% from the average of the previous five years.