Meiringen avalanche: guide convicted of negligent homicide

The regional court of Thun has convicted of multiple negligent homicide the guide leading a ski touring group that was caught by an avalanche above Meiringen, in the Bernese Oberland. The sentence is 150 daily units of 90 francs, suspended. The assistant who was with the group was acquitted.

The accident dates from 21 March 2023, in the area known as Gstelliwang. An eighteen-year-old British student and an American of the same age died in the avalanche, both taking part in an outing organised by a private school. The body of the second victim was found only three months later.

The central issue at trial was the choice of descent route. The group had already skied a first section without difficulty. The second, where the avalanche released, had a gradient of more than forty degrees and lay above a rock face several hundred metres high. The bulletin gave a danger level of two out of five, described as moderate.

What mattered to know

In court the guide argued that he had noticed no significant difference from the first descent and had been convinced the situation was safe. The prosecution maintained that the gradient and the shape of the terrain called for an independent assessment, regardless of how the previous section had gone.

A moderate danger level does not mean the absence of danger. It is the level at which the largest share of fatal accidents occurs in Switzerland, precisely because risk perception drops while conditions remain sufficient for a release on steep slopes. Established rules of conduct in such cases call for avoiding sections above forty degrees, especially above a fall zone.

The judgment is not yet final. The distinction between the guide's conviction and the assistant's acquittal reflects how responsibility is divided when leading a group: the decision on the route belongs to the person holding the professional qualification.