Avalanche Safety for All

2026-07-22

Such as other outdoor sports, ski-touring and snowshoeing have become more and more popular during the last years, also amongst young people, with a special boost during the years of the pandemic. Despite many other leisure activities – spending time in nature was possible almost everywhere and with minimum financial resources. But practicing winter sports in a natural environment comes with a high price: danger of avalanches. This danger grows rapidly outside of protected ski resorts, where sophisticated snowpack analysis tools enable professionals to assess stability and assess the risk of avalanches more accurately. In ski resorts, proactive measures like controlled triggering of avalanches using explosives help to reduce the buildup of unstable snow masses in high-risk zones. Most importantly avalanche danger is a complex issue, influenced from the interplay of various factors, including human behaviour. The critical factors are: weather and snowpack (conditions), terrain and people. The survival of completely buried victims in an avalanche mainly depends on burial duration. The only way to handle the issue of avalanche safety is through public education and awareness campaigns for all, which empower individuals to recognize the signs of avalanche danger. The main goal of the project is to create easy to understand training materials in video form for avalanche safety and to share them through social media. Main target group of the project are teenagers and young people people from diverse backgrounds, that are practicing winter sports in the mountains, with almost no mountain experience and limited financial resources. The project aims to provide young people with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate responsibly on snow-covered slopes and the videos will be suitable for beginners just entering the field, as well as for people who have some experience but want to consolidate or build on it.

Bulgaria

2025-10-15