Avalanches in Medium-high Mountains: from perception to occultation
In France, in medium-high mountains, avalanche risk appears as totally missed out whereas avalanche hazard and elements at risk truly exist. This article shows that this paradox results from images that go beyond the sole physical process. The predominance of the alpine archetype (the European Alps remaining the model of mountains) as well as the construction of the medium-high mountain concept in opposition to high mountains make medium-high mountains a distinct space characterized by its “tenderly mountainous” nature. In this context, the territorial anchorage in high mountains of snow avalanches and of the related risk can be found up to the scientific and institutional spheres. This results, in terms of operational risk management, in two distinct systems, the one devoted to medium-high mountains being characterized by the absence of numerous specific tools and actors. Finally, the characteristics and images associated to the snow avalanche and mountain concepts implicitly or explicitly lead to occulting the risk in medium high mountains, and, hence, to the non-emergence of the avalanche problem in this space. The archetypal case of the Vosges massif illustrates the demonstration.