Title: Death In The Alps
Headings: Death In The Alps
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Death In The Alps
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Content: But had they been caught in the mountains 10 years ago, they would have died. Nature's sheer power and unpredictability pose a threat that people living or traveling in extreme areas (even those equipped with mobiles) should take to heart. Avalanche experts agree that no matter how safe the mountains become, they will never be disaster-free. For centuries Galtor was a tiny hamlet at the highest end of a steep valley, where a handful of families made a meager living as subsistence farmers. Today, there are 700 full-time residents and an average of 3,000 resort guests during the ski season, who demand cleared roads, groomed pistes and all the comforts of home. Last week's events are a powerful reminder that, like exposed beaches or flat flood plains, mountains are places where existence is precarious. But that's a fact that people in the Alps are willing to live with. Several Austrian winter resorts that weren't hit by avalanches are now crowded with tourists who couldn't get to their target destinations. Last Saturday there was a 30-mile-long traffic jam on a highway going toward Innsbruck. Monika Spitzbarth says she'll be back to ski in the Alps next season, despite her ordeal. "