The search for a snowboarder who was caught in an avalanche close to the ski resort of La Mongie (Le Tourmalet) has resumed early this morning. The 26 year old man was hit by a 500 meters long avalanche yesterday afternoon at 16h30.
The victim was a season worker in the resort, had set out on foot for the Pic de la Barasse. At the summit he had acalled his girlfriend who saw the slide and gave the alert. A large search operation, including avalanche dogs, was immediately put in place but this was interupted by nightfall.
[update 14/Mar/2005]
The previous three days search have failed to locate the body of Pierre “Peyo” Boyard, who was a resident of Pau and working at the Hotel/Restaurant La Mandia in La Mongie. Channeled into a gulley, the avalanche deposit measures 6 meters deep in places.
Two snowboarders were also caught by an avalanche off-piste at the Alpe du Grand Serre in the Isère. The boarders had taken the Cloutons lift and climbed to the summit of the Grand Serre to descend by a couloir. They were able to free themselves without injury.
additional information: [url=http://www.skipass.com]http://www.skipass.com[/url], Lourdes Infos
The body of the snowboarder was finally recovered early this morning. The avalanche debris, which was over 6 meters deep in places, had begun to melt over the past week uncovering a glove belonging to the victim and giving a clue to his location. After a search his body was found under 3 meters of snow.