A devastating avalanche in Austria’s Salzburg Pongau region on January 17, 2026, claimed the lives of two people and injured another during an Austrian Alpine Club training course.
Rescue teams were alerted around 2 p.m. on January 17th. The avalanche occurred in off-piste terrain near Finsterkopf (2,152 meters / 7,060 feet) in the Großarltal valley. Seven ski tourers were caught in the slide. Mountain rescue teams from Großarl, Bad Hofgastein, Bad Gastein, Dorfgastein, Hüttschlag, and Großarl responded, along with four rescue helicopters, search dogs from the mountain rescue and Red Cross, six crisis intervention team members from the Red Cross, alpine police, a police helicopter, and paramedics.”Four people were recovered deceased. One person sustained serious injuries, one person sustained minor injuries, and one person was uninjured,” reported Salzburg Mountain Rescue.
