Snowstorm Kills 5 In The Alps; Western Canada's Cold Snap Cost $180M; March Blizzards Bury The West... Much More To Come; + Priorities

The skiers 'froze to death' after trying to build a cave to protect themselves.

Snowstorm Kills 5 In The Alps

Powerful snowstorms have buffeted the European Alps in recent weeks, and the death toll is mounting.

Five missing skiers in the Swiss Alps “froze to death” trying to build a cave to protect themselves from the elements, rescuers have said.

A sixth remains unaccounted for, with an urgent search underway.

The five were found dead near the famous Matterhorn on Sunday.

The cross-country skiers, members of the same family, went missing around Tete Blanche mountain on Saturday on the Zermatt-Arolla path that straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy.

Anjan Truffer, director of helicopter rescue company Zermatt Mountain Rescue, told Swiss media outlet Blick: "The picture we found was ugly...We saw that the ski tourers had tried to build a cave and protect themselves from the wind. The ski tourers froze to death at altitude, disorientated,' Mr Truffer added. "They were caught in the storm."

"Tremendous wind, cold, and poor visibility," is how Christian Varone, commander of the Valais cantonal police, described the conditions.

Heavy snow has been falling across the Alps of late, a fact little-reported by a warm-mongering mainstream. In Macugnaga, Italy—for example—another 75 cm (2.46 ft) of fresh snow fell Sunday, with more than 3 m (10 ft) settling at altitude.

Despite MSM caterwaulings to the contrary, this has been a good snowpack season for European mountains with the majority of peaks and resorts sitting above average.

"It’s been another week for bumper snowfalls in the Alps!" reads an OnTheSnow report dated March 10.

"We’ve seen substantial snowfalls on upper slopes with a meter of fresh powder for many high-altitude resorts in Austria, France and Switzerland. Italian resorts are also doing well ... It’s looking pretty perfect for freeriders right now."

Western Canada's Cold Snap Cost $180M

The extreme cold snap that hit Western Canada in January has led to at least $180 million in insured damages, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

Across British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, the majority of the claims were for personal property, such as water damage from burst pipes, according to initial estimates. Estimates that do not include the "catastrophic loss" many farmers faced in places like B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, where grape producers lost all of this year’s crop.

The brutal mid-Jan freeze drove temperatures in major wine-producing areas of B.C.'s southern Interior to a "lethal" -27C (-16.6F).

A February report from Wine Growers BC says it is expecting "an almost complete write-off of the 2024 vintage" with revenue losses of $346 million for vineyards and wineries. 

"It's been an unusual winter season, with extreme swings in conditions across the country,” said Rob de Pruis of the IBC.

'Quelle surprise'...

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March Blizzards Bury The West...