Setting off an avalanche could mean up to five years in prison

Italian police have accused a young Swedish skier of setting off an avalanche in a no-go zone, which in accordance with local laws, carries a risk of up to five years in prison.

The incident happened on Thursday 26th Feb in the Champoluc ski area of Monterosa in Italy. The skier allegedly caused a snow slide which passed very close to skiers in the Sarezza piste area.

The young Swede was taken by the avalanche, but saved himself by managing to stay on top of the snow. The avalanche ended up being several hundreds of metres wide and more than 1.5 metres deep by the time it came to a stop.

A policeman on duty in the area witnessed the event and called rescuers in. It was the policeman who stated that it was the skier himself who had caused the avalanche. The resort says there are numerous panels in the area warning that off piste skiing in that zone is banned - by law.

By way of example, a Slovakian ski instructor who was with a group of British skiers with Interski, was caught and taken for around 400m in avalanche that he had allegedly started in Pila, also on the Thursday. However, this man will not face any charges as the was group was in the Platta de Grevon off piste area which is not subject to a ban.

As the Italians get tough on skiers and boarders going in to off-piste no go zones, is this something we could be seeing more of in France and Switzerland too?

Source : Dauphine Libere