Ski resort operators

Avalanche on a secured slope and the liability of the operator

Avalanche on a secured slope: when the operator breaches the safety duty and when an unforeseeable extreme event as force majeure excludes liability.

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Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt

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27 June 2026 · Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt

An avalanche on an open slope is a rare but severe event. Unlike the ordinary fall it raises the question whether the operator secured the face sufficiently. Decisive here is whether the avalanche came down on the marked slope or in open terrain and whether the danger was recognisable.

On the open slope the operator bears a safety duty also against atypical dangers such as avalanches. They must assess the avalanche situation and close endangered areas or secure them by blasting. If they breach this duty and the danger was recognisable, they are liable under sections 1293 ff ABGB. With an unforeseeable extreme event, by contrast, force majeure exists.

This post explains the slope safety duty against avalanches, the distinction from open terrain and the limit of force majeure. What applies outside the secured slope is shown by the post on the variant run and the end of slope safety.

Place and foreseeability

Is the operator liable for an avalanche?

Two short questions on the place and on the recognisability of the danger place the liability.

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01 Question 1

Where did the avalanche come down?

The slope safety duty applies only to marked and open slopes, not to open terrain.

All paths at a glance

Overview of all answers.

Open terrain or closure, personal responsibility instead of slope safety.

In open terrain, on a variant run or on a closed slope there is no slope safety duty against avalanches. Anyone who skis there bears the alpine risk themselves. A liability of the operator is ruled out, and a contributory fault under section 1304 ABGB can be added if a closure was disregarded.

Next steps: clarify the position of the face relative to the slope, document a possible closure and have personal responsibility realistically assessed.

Recognisable danger inadequately secured, liability of the operator.

An avalanche on the open slope is an atypical danger that the operator must control within their slope safety duty. If the danger was recognisable, for instance because of a raised warning level, and they neither closed the face nor secured it by blasting, a liability under sections 1293 ff ABGB comes into consideration. Decisive is what a careful operator had to arrange for the assessment and securing.

Next steps: document the avalanche warning level and the securing measures, secure the avalanche commission records and have the breach of the safety duty assessed.

Unforeseeable extreme event, force majeure excludes liability.

If the avalanche rests on an unforeseeable extreme event that could not be prevented despite careful assessment and securing, force majeure exists. Then the operator is not liable, because no breach of duty can be attributed to them. The line between a recognisable danger and force majeure must be assessed carefully in the individual case.

Next steps: reconstruct the weather and avalanche situation, check the securing decisions and draw on your own accident insurance.

All recommendations at a glance

Open terrain or closure, personal responsibility instead of slope safety.

Next steps: clarify the position of the face relative to the slope, document a possible closure and have personal responsibility realistically assessed.

Recognisable danger inadequately secured, liability of the operator.

Next steps: document the avalanche warning level and the securing measures, secure the avalanche commission records and have the breach of the safety duty assessed.

Unforeseeable extreme event, force majeure excludes liability.

Next steps: reconstruct the weather and avalanche situation, check the securing decisions and draw on your own accident insurance.

Slope safety duty against avalanche danger

The operator must secure the open slope not only against the typical dangers of skiing but also against atypical dangers that the skier need not expect. An avalanche that comes down onto the marked slope belongs to these atypical dangers. The operator must continuously assess the avalanche situation, often with the help of an avalanche commission, and close endangered sections or defuse them by controlled blasting.

If the operator breaches this duty, for instance by leaving a known endangered face open at a raised warning level, they are liable under sections 1293 ff ABGB for the loss. The standard is what a careful operator had to arrange for assessment and securing. The mere fact of an avalanche does not by itself establish liability.

Force majeure and the limit of liability

Not every avalanche is controllable. If the event rests on an unforeseeable, extreme development that could not be prevented despite careful assessment and securing, force majeure exists. In this case no breach of duty and thus no liability falls on the operator. The safety duty does not demand the impossible.

The distinction between a recognisable, controllable danger and force majeure is the central question. It depends on the avalanche warning level, the weather data and the securing decisions taken. As with slope safety in general, it comes down to a case-by-case assessment, which the post on the case-by-case assessment of slope safety deepens.

The warning level and the securing records are decisive. Whether the operator acted carefully can often be assessed only from the avalanche warning level and the records of the avalanche commission. Secure these documents early, because they prove the recognisability of the danger.

Frequent questions

Avalanche and operator liability in practice.

Is the operator liable for every avalanche? +

No. They are liable only for a recognisable and controllable avalanche danger on the open slope that they failed to secure in breach of duty. With an unforeseeable extreme event force majeure exists.

Does the safety duty also apply in open terrain? +

No. The slope safety duty applies only to marked and open slopes. In open terrain and on a variant run the skier bears the alpine risk themselves.

What is an atypical danger? +

A danger that a skier on the slope need not expect, for instance an avalanche, a rockfall or a non-recognisable obstacle. For such dangers the safety duty of the operator applies.

What role does the avalanche commission play? +

The avalanche commission assesses the situation and recommends closures or blasting. Its records show whether the danger was recognisable and which measures the operator took.

What does force majeure mean here? +

An unforeseeable, externally caused extreme event that could not be prevented despite careful securing. If force majeure exists, the operator is not liable.