Where to find your Avalanche Bulletin

When combined with the weather forecast, a good plan and the right gear it can be the difference between a great day and a disaster.  Read our article The Avalanche Bulletin Explained to learn how to get the most from the bulletin.

There’s almost always a daily (sometimes twice daily) avalanche bulletin to refer to.

Where to find your daily avalanche bulletin:

European Avalanche Warning Services

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Andorra

Austria (also covers Southern Germany, Northern Italy and Slovenia)

Austria (daily blog)

Canada

Czech Republic

Finland

France– Avalanche Alerts (recommend via the Meteo-France Mobile App)

France – Northern Alps

France – Pyrenees

France – Southern Alps

Germany

Italy – By Map

Italy – By region

Norway

Slovak Republic

Switzerland

USA

Here’s how you gain value from an avi bulletin: 

1.   Find the avalanche bulletin for your area or region and get familiar with the frequency and format of the report. Most ski stations provide a printed or summary version of the avalanche bulletin. Always keep an eye out for these, but at the Republic, we recommend reviewing the online edition (usually published at 4pm the day prior). More on that in a minute.
2.   Before studying the report, check the date. Every bulletin states when it was written or published and when it expires – usually a 24 hour window. This may seem obvious but accidentally reviewing out-of-date information or even data for a neighbouring region is easily done. 
3.   If possible, study successive reports to get a picture of what is happening over time. Avalanche risk tends to evolve in reasonably predictable patterns over time so it’s useful to know what’s been going on up there over successive days as this will help you to better understand the prevailing problems and dangers.
4.   Use the avalanche bulletin as one of your planning tools when conducting your risk assessment. If the first time you see the bulletin is when you arrive at the ski station, you probably already have a plan in mind for the day. Although still useful, it’s far better to start your day with all the knowledge you need to ride – so before you head for the hill. 
5.   The avalanche bulletin offers a snapshot in time, not a predictive tool. Always use the bulletin in conjunction with the weather forecast. In particular, consider events that may affect the accuracy of the bulletin such as fresh snowfall or a rapid change in temperature.

Stay safe.