Another Avalanche Death in the Alps
The man, who has not been named, was on holiday in the resort when he was caught in an avalanche at 4.30 pm on Monday afternoon.
He was in a group of six in the Solaise area when he was buried.
The rescue services were on the scene quickly and found his avalanche bag in the snow that had broken loose.
His body was located via his transceiver but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Val d’Isere authorities are calling on people who venture off piste to be extra vigilant.
It follows a recent fall of snow, accompanied by high winds, that has fallen on a highly unstable base.
The avalanche danger level remains ‘considerable’ (Level 3) in some parts of the Alps.
Here is the current risk level in Switzerland.
Avalanche risk in Switzerland, Tuesday 20th January. Image c/o SLF.
Last Saturday eight people were killed in Austria:
On Saturday an avalanche hit a group of seven skiers in the Pongau area near Salzburg, killing four and seriously injuring one on Saturday.
Also on Saturday a female skier was buried by an avalanche in open alpine terrain near the same area.
She was skiing with her husband in Bad Hofgastein at an altitude of 2,200m.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families,” said Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service.
“This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is.”
Further avalanches were recorded in the Pongau region around midday, but no-one was injured.
Avalanche in Pongau. Image c/o Pongau Mountain Rescue Service
Around 20-50 cms of snow has recently fallen in the Austrian Alps.
The fresh snow is poorly bonded to older snow causing repeated avalanches and skiers are being urged to exercise extreme caution.
There have been 11 avalanche deaths in Austria this winter – the annual average is 19.
In Switzerland there have been further fatalities.
A German man was killed in an avalanche and four other people were hurt as they were ski touring.
The incident happened on Friday, on the Piz Badus peak near the village of Tujetsch in the centre-south of the country.
Earlier a 42-year old Swiss skier died in an avalanche in the Pointe de Chemo area in the Valais municipality of Chamoson.
The Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) has described the start of the year as “tragic”.
Authorities across the Alps are continuing to advise extreme caution of piste as the snowpack is highly unstable in places.
Of the twenty four recent avalanche deaths, eleven happened in Austria, seven in France, five in Switzerland, one in Italy.
It is not just the Alps that has been hit by avalanche fatalities.
In the Pyrenees two people died on Sunday after being buried by avalanches while off-piste skiing.
A skier died in Baqueira Beret in Spain.
The man was caught in an avalanche and was rescued alive by emergency services, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The avalanche risk was at Level 4 – ‘High’.
Another person died after being buried by an avalanche while skiing off-piste in the Aragonese Pyrenees in Spain.
It is the fifth person in less than a month to have died buried by an avalanche in the Aragonese Pyrenees, after three people died on December 29 while ski touring on the western slope of Tablato peak.
See here for PlanetSKI updates on the recent avalanche accidents:
- 13 year old boy is latest avalanche fatality
- More avalanches in the Alps with ‘high’ risk in places
- Three dead in avalanches in France
The post Another Avalanche Death in the Alps appeared first on PlanetSKI.
Leave a Reply