About avalanches Please note that this information has been taken from a leaflet produced by the Scottish Mountain Safety Group.
Avalanches can happen wherever there is snow lying on ground of sufficient angle.
In recent years there have been accidents in most Scottish mountain areas, as well as the English Lakes, the Cheviots, the Pennines and Wales. The vastly increased popularity of winter climbing and hill walking along with the growth of interest in ski touring and off piste skiing, means that greater numbers are at risk. Sadly, each year adds to the list of injuries or fatalities. Many of these accidents would have been avoidable, given greater care or knowledge, or if the victims had even paused to consider that an avalanche might be possible. In making practical assessments of avalanche risk, there is no substitute for knowledge of snow conditions which comes from years of experience.