A 17 year old French man has been killed in an avalanche yesterday in the Pyrenean ski resort of Gourette. The man was skiing with his father in the Vallon d’Anglas when they triggered a slide 70 meters wide and 200 meters long a little after midday. The father was able to escape the avalanche. It took 50 rescue workers and an avalanche dog over 2 hours to locate the man, buried under 4 meters of snow. He was in a critical condition and succumbed to his injuries. It is the second death in Gourette this season, on the 27th an 18 year old was killed instantly falling 12 meters from a chair lift. The cause of this accident are still unknown.

According to our statistics compiled by RichardH this brings to 7 the number of deaths in avalanches so far this season.

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Police investigating the death of the young skier in Gourette have watched his helmet camera footage and noticed a number of errors. The two skiers, father and son, ignored warnings put in place by the resort. They were not equipped with rescue equipment: avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe or an airbag system. The risk at the time was 3/5 after 20 cm of fresh snow.

According to the Police (PGHM) There was a first avalanche which ran for 700 meters. The two skiers were 20 meters apart, they paused mid slope in dangerous location then continued, causing another avalanche which measures 70x200 meters. At first the victim was able to remain on the surface of the slide, it was only as the avalanche slowed that he was buried. It took 3h30 to find him and it was already too late.

Emotions are running high in Gourette with many questioning the priorities of some freeriders, the young man had a helmet camera costing 250 euros but neither he nor his father had avalanche transceivers.