Heavy snow raises avalanche threat in Austrian alps

Authorities in two Austrian Alpine provinces raised the avalanche alert to its second-highest level Wednesday after fresh snowfall made conditions ripe for potentially deadly snow slides.
VIENNA, Austria — Authorities in two Alpine provinces raised the avalanche alert to its second-highest level Wednesday after fresh snowfall made conditions ripe for potentially deadly snow slides.
    Officials in the western provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg lifted the alert to step four on a five-step scale after up to 60 centimeters (23 1/2 inches) of snow fell overnight atop old and unstable crusts of ice, regional avalanche monitoring agencies reported.
    Level four means there is a ''great'' danger of an avalanche and the situation for skiers and snowboarders is ''very delicate,'' said Andreas Pecl, an avalanche monitor in Vorarlberg.
    Officials there raised the alert from level three, or ''substantial,'' after winds gusting to 60 miles per hour pushed snow into deep drifts, increasing the risk of crusts breaking away, authorities said.
    Avalanche experts said the risk was especially acute above 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), where some small snow slides already were being recorded early Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
    In Switzerland, where as much as 76 centimeters (2.5 feet) fell earlier in the week, a 27-year-old man was killed Monday in an avalanche in the Bernese Alps near Gstaad, officials said.
    Avalanches are commonplace in the Alps and kill or injure dozens of snowriders and hikers each year.
  
    — The Associated Press