On February 3, 2023, the man is said to have skied into an unsecured slope with his son in the Schmittenhöhe ski area when there was a high risk of avalanches and triggered an avalanche. He dismissed his appeal against the verdict on Wednesday.
The defendant pleaded not guilty at the first instance trial in Zell am See and filed a full appeal against the verdict. A three-judge panel at the Salzburg Regional Court confirmed the verdict today, as the spokeswoman for the Salzburg Regional Court, Christina Bayrhammer, informed. “The judgment is final.” The accused’s son was also at risk due to the grossly negligent triggering of an avalanche.
Avalanche warning level 4
The accident happened in open terrain. At that time, the avalanche warning level was four (“major”) on the five-point scale. The snow board was around 800 meters long and 300 meters wide. The then 44-year-old and his 13-year-old son managed to get out of the slope in time. They were not swept away by the masses of snow and remained uninjured. Members of the piste and mountain rescue team brought the two Viennese people out of a ditch and back onto the piste.
According to the police, when identifying him, the holidaymaker was very unreasonable about the Alpine dangers and downplayed the situation. The Salzburg public prosecutor’s office now accused him of behaving recklessly and thereby endangering the lives of his son (who is under criminal responsibility, note) and of other people – such as emergency services.
Wiener pleaded not guilty
However, at the start of the trial on August 23rd, the man pleaded not guilty. He told the court he did not trigger the avalanche. There was no avalanche warning level four in the area where he skied down with his son.
The penalty could have been up to three months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 180 daily rates. The 200 euro fine imposed is made up of 50 daily rates of four euros each.
