Eyes and ears of the avalanche warning service ¶

Current field data are required to ensure that users can rely on the bulletins, which is why the SLF maintains its own network of observers. The official observers are trained by the SLF, report regularly on their findings and get paid for their reports. Different data may be collected depending on the situation, including for example estimates of fresh-fallen snow and fresh snowdrift, observed alarm signals and avalanches and often also an assessment of the current avalanche danger.

Some of the SLF observers file their reports mostly from a fixed location, which is generally their home or place of work. Some of these perform measurements at a measuring site as well as providing observations.

Another part of the SLF observers provide data from throughout the Swiss Alps. They submit their reports whenever they have information of interest from their respective location.

Here we present six of them from different parts of the country.