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Avalanche in Val Thorens kills snowboarder.
Posted: 24 April 2012 05:01 PM  
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http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2012/04/18/un-surfeur-meurt-emporte-par-une-avalanche-a-val-thorens

 
 
Posted: 25 April 2012 07:26 PM   [ # 1 ]  
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The guy who died was a season worker, he’d been in resort for 7 seasons and was very well known and liked in resort, his girlfriend is in resort too but was working otherwise she would have been with him. He got to the summit and realized he had forgotten his beacon which is why the S&R needed an avalanche dog to find him. One of his friends was hit by a second avalanche and a third avalanche came down when rescue workers were searching.

Proximity of the ski resort, late season with relatively stable conditions, fresh snow may all have persuaded him that it was safe enough to risk the run. There was a big slide in the ski resort of Chamrousse today where the fact that it is a ski resort (closed since the weekend) also seems to have played a role despite the risk 3/4. Luckily no-one hurt.