A Viennese man is said to have driven onto an unprotected slope in February 2023 when the avalanche warning level was high. The verdict has now been confirmed by an appeals committee.
The 200 euro fine that a Viennese man was sentenced to in October 2023 by the Pinzgau court in Zell am See for gross negligence endangering physical safety is now legally binding. On February 3, 2023, the man and his son were said to have skied onto an unprotected slope in the Schmittenhöhe ski area when there was a high avalanche danger and caused an avalanche. On Wednesday he rejected his appeal against the verdict.
Defendant has pleaded not guilty
The defendant pleaded not guilty at the first instance trial in Zell am See and appealed the verdict in full. A panel of three judges at the Salzburg Regional Court confirmed the verdict on Wednesday, Salzburg Regional Court spokeswoman Christina Bayrhammer said. “The verdict is final.” The defendant’s son was also in danger due to gross negligence causing an avalanche.
Despite avalanche warning level 4, we drove into open terrain
The accident happened on open ground. At that time, the avalanche warning level was four (“major”) on the five-point scale. The snowboard was about 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 were unharmed. Members of the piste and mountain rescue team pulled the two Viennese out of a ditch and back onto the piste.
The court criticized reckless behavior
According to the police, when the holidaymaker was identified, he was very unreasonable about the dangers in the Alps and played down the situation. The Salzburg public prosecutor’s office now accused him of acting recklessly and thus endangering the lives of his son (who is under criminal responsibility, mind you) and other people – such as the emergency services.
However, at the start of the trial on August 23, the man pleaded not guilty. He told the court he did not cause the avalanche. There was no level four avalanche warning in the area where he skied down with his son.
The penalty could have been up to three months in prison or a fine of up to 180 daily rates. The imposed fine of 200 euros is made up of 50 daily rates of four euros each.
Source: Krone
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