News · EAWS danger levels 3 / 5
Danger level 3 — Considerable
Considerable (3)
Published 25.08.2026
Considerable is where many backcountry accidents happen. The snowpack is only moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes, and remote triggering becomes typical when persistent weak layers are in play.
Snowpack stability
The snowpack is moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes.
Likelihood of triggering
Triggering is possible, even from low additional loads, particularly on the indicated steep slopes. In certain situations some large, and in isolated cases very large natural avalanches are possible.
What this means in practice
Triggering is possible, even from low additional loads, particularly on the indicated steep slopes. In certain situations some large, and in isolated cases very large natural avalanches are possible.
Typical danger signs
Recent avalanche activity, cracking, “Whumpf” sounds. Remote triggering of avalanches is typical, especially if Persistent weak layer is one of the avalanche problems.
Season & fatalities (EAWS)
- Forecast for around 30% of the winter season.
- Around 50% of avalanche fatalities.
These figures come from the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS). Low and moderate days cover most of the season — yet considerable (level 3) accounts for about half of fatalities. High (level 4) is rare but still claims around 10% of victims.
Official source
Snowpack stability and likelihood of triggering on this page follow the official EAWS danger scale text.
EAWS avalanche danger scale →