Diedamskopf ski region: publicises Avalanche warnings instead of advertising
18/March/2026
Austria is experiencing its deadliest avalanche winter in recent years. Despite existing warning signs and road closure notices, serious accidents continue to occur. This is often because the risks are underestimated and the traditional warning signs lose their effectiveness due to their constant visibility.
The Diedamskopf ski region has responded by launching a new digital safety initiative: Avalanche Alerts. The new system utilizes existing online advertising infrastructure for safety purposes. Instead of commercial advertising, people in alpine terrain automatically receive context-sensitive avalanche warnings on their smartphones – without an app, without registration, without prior activation, and fully compliant with the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSVGÖ).
To achieve this, the terrain is divided into digital safety zones – defined based on current avalanche bulletins, topographical terrain analyses, and the extensive experience of local alpine experts and ski slope managers. If a smartphone is located in a high-risk zone, a location-specific warning can be issued via the specially developed Anti Avalanche Ads platform. The aim is not only to warn at the moment of danger but also to prevent skiers from re-entering closed or avalanche-prone slopes – a behavior that occurs particularly frequently after a safe descent.
Avalanche Alerts is aimed at winter sports enthusiasts in the ski resort as well as ski tourers in open alpine terrain. After a two-month test phase, the initiative was rolled out across the entire ski area at the end of February.
The project was supported by ScreenOnDemand, Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann / DMB, and Media1. Avalanche Alerts is designed as an open-source system and can be adopted by all regions. "Avalanche safety should not be a competitive advantage," says Stefan Lucchini, MSc, Managing Director of Diedamskopf. "If a system helps reach people sooner, it should be accessible to everyone."
