Avalanche on the Aiguille du Midi

A 28 year old ski tourer has been killed by a slab avalanche close to the Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix. The man was carried 800 meters by the slide which occured at 9h30 on the north side of the Col du Plan.

Ski "Face Nord Col du Plan" Chamonix
Uploaded by jimyblackprod

The accident happened at 9h30 at around 3400 meters altitude. His friend had already test skied the slope and escaped the avalanche. Both skiers were very experienced.

The rescue operation was complicated by the weather conditions and the second man was only recovered by the helicopter from the PGHM based in Chamonix in the afternoon. Both men were local to the area. There has been some fresh snow above 3000 meters over the last few days with some strong winds from the south-west but no particular risk of avalanche was signalled in the bulletin.

(note: The video clip is just to give you an idea of the route and has no link with this tragic incident).

Posted by davidof on Saturday, 31 May, 2008 at 09:04 PM