How to manage the risk of avalanches on mountain resort roads: an analytical attempt

Abstract

The risk management of avalanches on access roads to winter sports resorts constitutes a collective problem, which calls upon particular procedures, is based on specific instruments, implies various liability regimes and mobilizes a variety of interventions. This article proposes an analysis of the discrepancies observed between the theory of management and the actual reality of its implementation in local tourism contexts. The vulnerability considered here is not limited only to passive elements, such as roads. The endogenous dimension of the risk is considered through active factors of vulnerability arising from the organisational complexity and the concrete difficulties of management methods.