SMHI has upgraded the warning for storms in the northernmost mountains to an orange warning for strong winds and snow on the bare mountains, from Tuesday morning. Several places are also warned of dangerous conditions and a high risk of avalanches has been issued in the Abisko-Kebnekaise area.

A professional snowboarder criticized the prolonged five‐hour rescue effort after an avalanche swept a backcountry skier down a mountain, cautioning that every minute matters in life‐or‐death situations.

A mother and child lost their lives in an avalanche on Tuesday while skiing at Pallastunturi in northwestern Finnish Lapland.

The upper mountain at Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau was closed on Friday following a large avalanche Thursday morning. No one was hurt.

Michael Hamilton, who worked at Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, died Monday in one of numerous avalanches that have been occurring in the Southcentral Alaska backcountry recently. Several recent large wet slab avalanches reported throughout the Chugach are believed to be connected to a buried crust that formed around late October, she said. A warm storm system last week also weakened the snowpack because it added weight and heat.