Cable car operator in court

Should the icy “death slope” have been closed?

Two snow groomer drivers and the head of the ski resort were on trial in Innsbruck.(Bild: Birbaumer Christof, Krone KREATIV)

A Dutch woman (28) killed in an accident and seven skiers injured within half an hour! After a horror day at the beginning of 2023, the boss of a Tyrolean ski resort and two employees are now on trial in Innsbruck for grossly negligent homicide.

"It was a black day for the Zillertal Gletscherbahn", lamented the defense lawyer for the three defendants. According to the indictment, his clients - the managing director (68) and two snow groomer drivers (34, 24) - failed to close the extremely icy "Schwarze Pfanne" valley run in Hintertux on New Year's Day 2023 or failed to give instructions to do so.

The ski accidents with serious consequences occurred on this steep slope on New Year's Day 2023.(Bild: ZOOM.TIROL)

"During a check run with the Ski-Doo, I noticed that the red slope was very slippery despite the mild temperatures. We then discussed whether we should close it, but it wasn't clear," explained one of the two crawler drivers. They informed the operations manager that someone should take a look at the steep section - but by then it was already too late.

Closures usually only occur with large amounts of fresh snow
"Total closures are very rare," the managing director said. And only when there are "large amounts of fresh snow". He remembered the day of the serious accident in detail: "Night and day were exceptionally mild." However, he himself was not aware of the special slope conditions on that day. "However, the employees can close the slopes immediately if there is imminent danger," he emphasized. However, there are no written instructions on correct procedures. Check runs had also been carried out properly and the steep section had been properly secured.

It was pure ice.

Ein Zeuge

A total of 17 witnesses - some of whom were seriously injured on the descent, but many of whom reached their destination safely despite having difficulty skiing - then described the nature of the steep section of the descent on which the fatal accident took place in eloquent and sometimes graphic detail. "It was pure ice," said the partner of the girlfriend of the 28-year-old woman involved in the accident.

Some holidaymakers were skiing with poor equipment
However, the slope had obviously changed within a very short space of time. "It is almost impossible that this 'metamorphosis of the snow cover' could have been noticed by the employees," said the defense lawyer. According to an expert witness, some of the inexperienced skiers were also skiing with boards in extremely poor condition.

"Absolutely exceptional situation"
In his more than half an hour long ruling, Judge Norbert Hofer explained that it could not be assumed that the employees had breached their duty of care, but that an "exceptional winter with little snow and difficult weather conditions" had to be assumed. The icing of the piste had only actually occurred in the morning before the ski slopes were opened, which is why additional and even more precise control runs would not have changed the situation. "All in all, it was an absolutely exceptional situation," said Hofer, who argued, among other things, that the safety measures on the steep section, such as the safety net there, had also been sufficient at the time of the accident. In the end, there were three acquittals in cases of doubt.