Five German mountaineers, including a 17-year-old girl and her father, die in a sudden avalanche while scaling a peak in Italy’s Ortler Alps.
Five German climbers, including a teenage girl and her father, were killed in an avalanche in Italy’s Dolomite mountains on Saturday November 1, 2025, authorities have confirmed.
The avalanche struck at around 16:00 local time as the climbers were scaling Cima Vertana, a 3,545-metre (11,630ft) peak in the Ortler Alps, known in German as Vertainspitze. Italy’s Alpine rescue service, Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico, said the victims were part of separate climbing groups.
A party of three mountaineers was “fully swept away by the avalanche” and all were killed. The bodies were recovered on the same Saturday before fading light forced rescue operations to pause, officials said.
In a separate climbing group, a 17-year-old girl and her father were also carried away by the snow. Their bodies were discovered on the morning of Sunday November 2, 2025, following renewed rescue efforts, which were initially delayed by thick fog and low visibility that grounded helicopters at first light.
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Two other climbers from a third group survived and were able to raise the alarm, triggering a large-scale rescue operation involving mountain teams and avalanche detection dogs. Once the weather improved, responders were airlifted to 2,600 metres before continuing on foot.
Olaf Reinstadler, a spokesperson for the Sulden Mountain Rescue Service, told German media that the avalanche may have been caused by fresh snow that had not yet bonded to the underlying ice. He noted that although the conditions were favourable, the timing of the ascent was puzzling.
“Climbing tours are popular here, and the weather was good. But starting late in the afternoon meant the descent would have taken them into nightfall,” Reinstadler said.
The Dolomites, part of the Southern Limestone Alps, are a popular climbing and skiing destination but are also prone to avalanches, particularly during periods of shifting weather and unstable snow layers.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, but German and Italian officials are working to notify the families and coordinate the return of their remains.
The tragedy has prompted fresh warnings from mountain rescue services about the dangers of late-afternoon climbs and the importance of assessing snow conditions, even in seemingly stable weather.
