Andorra Conducts National Avalanche Simulation with 80 Emergency Pros

Around 80 professionals from Andorra's emergency services participated in the annual National Avalanche Simulation on Thursday at the Cubil sector of the Pal ski area in La Massana. The exercise reviewed rescue procedures, tools, and techniques for avalanches within ski areas, while evaluating coordination among responders both inside and outside resort boundaries. A key innovation was the debut of an Advanced Command Centre on site, managed by Civil Protection and firefighters, to direct field operations, compile real-time data on the incident and resource needs, and feed updates to the main command hub for strategic choices.

Organized by the Civil Protection and Emergency Management Department and the Fire Prevention and Extinction Department under the Ministry of Justice and Interior, the drill involved ski patrollers from Pal and Arinsal, firefighters, mountain police, banders, SUM medical teams, Red Cross volunteers, the National Meteorological Service, patrollers from all ski resorts, and Andorra Research and Innovation representatives. Observers from Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra canine unit, Special Actions Group firefighters, and Aran firefighters attended to observe Andorran protocols—marking their first visit since before the pandemic.

The event opened with a theoretical session at the Coll de la Botella restaurant in Pal, covering past avalanche accidents in Andorra and clarifying roles based on emergency severity. Groups then moved to Cubil for practical drills simulating an avalanche with victims. Patrollers issued the first alert and began searches, followed by staggered firefighter deployments including Canine Rescue, Mountain Rescue, Medical, and Mountain Support teams. SUM performed on-site triage and care, mountain police handled investigations and recovery of fatalities, and banders supported probing efforts.

Experts emphasized prevention during the simulation. National Meteorological Service nivometeorologist Guillem Martín highlighted daily bulletins on snowpack conditions, noting this season's heightened risks from December's low rainfall and weak lower layers that left slopes unstable. He advised skiers and hikers to review reports and avoid off-piste areas until spring. Fire Special Groups head Lluís Soldevila outlined the response sequence: patrollers' pre-alerts trigger initial helicopter teams of two Mountain Rescue members and one canine handler, scaling up with more personnel and notifying police for casualties; Civil Protection activates only in major incidents. Civil Protection's Eduard Vergara described school programs since 2017, including workshops and gear demos to educate children on avalanche dangers. Soldevila pointed out low local use of avalanche victim detectors (DVA), making search dogs essential.

The drill enhanced technical readiness, response times, inter-agency collaboration, and knowledge exchange amid busy ski seasons.