https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The Swiss government put part of the Swiss Alps on the highest avalanche alert level on Tuesday after more heavy snow hit the Valais region. https://www.thelocal.ch/20260216/significant-avalanche-danger-declared-in-the-swiss-alps Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:28:59 +0100 significant-avalanche-danger-declared-in-the-swiss-alps Three mountain climbers from Switzerland and France have been killed in avalanches in the Swiss Alps in the past three days, police said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171225/three-people-die-in-avalanches-in-swiss-alps Mon, 25 Dec 2017 22:39:44 +0100 three-people-die-in-avalanches-in-swiss-alps As the ski season ends for another year, it will come as little surprise to many that the past winter in Switzerland has been described as one of the least snowy on record. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170504/swiss-winter-one-of-least-snowy-on-record Thu, 04 May 2017 11:04:15 +0200 swiss-winter-one-of-least-snowy-on-record A 26-year-old Austrian man and a 34-year-old German man died when an avalanche swept them down a slope while they were skiing off-piste in the canton of Valais, police said on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160117/austrian-and-german-freeriders-die-in-avalanche Sun, 17 Jan 2016 23:32:52 +0100 austrian-and-german-freeriders-die-in-avalanche Amid ongoing concerns about the dangers of avalanches in the Alps, a video of one powering down the mountainside in the canton of Valais is making the rounds on the internet, underscoring the phenomenal force possible from a snow slide down a steep slope. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160115/spectacular-video-shows-power-of-swiss-avalanche Fri, 15 Jan 2016 12:03:12 +0100 spectacular-video-shows-power-of-swiss-avalanche A second man has died from an avalanche in the canton of Valais on Sunday that buried members of a ski club from CERN, the Geneva-based particle physics lab, police said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150413/second-skier-from-cern-club-dies-from-avalanche Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:48:01 +0200 second-skier-from-cern-club-dies-from-avalanche UPDATE: An official from the Geneva-based European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on Monday the organization was in shock over an avalanche that killed one of its employees and critically injured another in the canton of Valais on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150413/cern-in-shock-over-valais-avalanche-accident Mon, 13 Apr 2015 13:17:23 +0200 cern-in-shock-over-valais-avalanche-accident Experts are warning of a significant avalanche risk in regions of the Swiss Alps this week, which for many ski resorts marks the close of the season. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150406/avalanches-pose-risk-for-late-season-skiers Tue, 07 Apr 2015 00:57:21 +0200 avalanches-pose-risk-for-late-season-skiers Searchers recovered the body of a 47-year-old German backcountry skier on Monday a day after he was engulfed by an avalanche in the Staldenried area of the Valais Alps. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150209/lone-german-skier-buried-by-avalanche Mon, 09 Feb 2015 22:15:00 +0100 lone-german-skier-buried-by-avalanche A 19-year-old American student who disappeared over the weekend while skiing in the Les Diablerets area of the Vaud Alps was rescued Tuesday, alive but suffering from hypothermia, police said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150204/us-teen-survives-48-hours-lost-in-alps Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:13:00 +0100 us-teen-survives-48-hours-lost-in-alps Close to 250 people have died in avalanches in Switzerland over the past decade, according to a report released on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150203/swiss-avalanches-claim-248-lives-over-10-years Tue, 03 Feb 2015 22:36:00 +0100 swiss-avalanches-claim-248-lives-over-10-years Another person has died after being overcome by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps while skiing off-piste, police said on Sunday, bringing the death toll in such accidents to 11 in the past four days. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150131/graubnden-avalanche-claims-lives-of-four-people Sat, 31 Jan 2015 21:51:00 +0100 graubnden-avalanche-claims-lives-of-four-people UPDATE: A 17-year-old French girl died following an avalanche that on Thursday swept five backcountry skiers down a mountainside in the Vallon d’Arby area near Verbier in the canton of Valais, police said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150130/avalanche-sweeps-five-skiers Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:45:00 +0100 avalanche-sweeps-five-skiers Avalanches in Switzerland's Alps claimed the life of an 18-year-old Swiss skier and injured two German backcountry skiers on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150105/avalanches-claim-weekend-victims-in-alps Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:37:00 +0100 avalanches-claim-weekend-victims-in-alps A 26-year-old Nepalese guide died and two Swiss climbers were injured when an avalanche hit a Himalayan peak in eastern Nepal on Monday, police said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20141103/avalanche-kills-nepalese-guding-swiss-climbers Mon, 03 Nov 2014 17:06:00 +0100 avalanche-kills-nepalese-guding-swiss-climbers A 65-year-old British skier has died in the canton of Valais following an off-piste accident in the Vercorin area earlier this week, the second skiing victim from the UK in as many days. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140212/two-british-skiers-die-in-valais-accidents Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:02:00 +0100 two-british-skiers-die-in-valais-accidents The Swiss Air Force provided aid on Thursday to communities in the canton of Ticino that have been cut off following heavy snowfall in the southernmost Swiss region. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140206/air-force-aids-snow-stricken-ticino-communities Thu, 06 Feb 2014 23:35:00 +0100 air-force-aids-snow-stricken-ticino-communities A mountain guide who lost his life in a snow slide that killed two others over the weekend in the canton of Valais was leading an avalanche course at the time, according to media reports. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140107/mountain-guide-died-while-leading-avalanche-course Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:01:00 +0100 mountain-guide-died-while-leading-avalanche-course Avalanches killed four skiers in the Valais Alps on Sunday as snow conditions on certain slopes in Swiss mountain regions remained lethal. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140105/avalanches-in-valais-alps-claim-four-more-victims Sun, 05 Jan 2014 22:03:00 +0100 avalanches-in-valais-alps-claim-four-more-victims A new campaign was launched on Wednesday in a bid to reduce the number of avalanche deaths in Swiss mountains. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131218/campaign-launched-to-reduce-avalanche-deaths Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:20:00 +0100 campaign-launched-to-reduce-avalanche-deaths