First avalanche fatality of the winter
Saturday December 5, 2009 - Email this article to a friend

The man failed to return from a ski touring trip on Tuesday of this week and police in Austria have just confirmed that a body was found on Thursday.

He was caught at 3,200m in the Otz Valley and was believed to be ski touring.

An investigation is under way and we will bring you further details when we get them.

In a separate development in Italy it has been made compulsory to have safety gear for everyone who skis or snowboards off piste this winter.

Know your safetyPeople who break the rules in the Piedmont region will be fined.

Every skier and snowboarder who ventures beyond the marked runs in the region will be required to carry avalanche safety equipment this winter; a transceiver, shovel and avalanche probe.

If they do not then their insurance policy could be invalid and they could be fined up to €250 (£225). In recent years people had been expected to have the equipment if the level of risk on a scale of 1 to 5, was 3 of above (considerable).  

That law was passed in 2003.

The authorities hope the law will cut down on the number of people that die in avalanches off piste each winter.

Other areas of Italy and indeed other ski areas across The Alps will be watching the move carefully.

Piedmont has 53 different ski resorts in its area.

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