Pic du Midi avalanche kills cop

A senior police officer and qualified high mountain guide, member of a specialist mountain unit of the CRS, has been killed by an avalanche while preparing a ski competition route in the Pyrenees.

The officer was part of a team of 10 that were marking the route for the Open Altitoy. A ski mountaineering competition with around 600 competitors that takes place between Luz Ardiden and the ski domain of Barèges / le Tourmalet.

The group were on touring skis and were descending from the col de Sencours towards the lac d’Oncet below the Pic du Midi. According to press reports, at around 16h00 the team noticed that two of the group were missing and spotted a large avalanche higher up the mountain with tracks leading in. They immediately contacted the rescue services (PGHM based at Pierrefitte) and began climbing back to the slide.

They located their colleagues using avalanche beacons. One man was in a state of cardio-vascular arrest. Resuscitated at the scene he was taken by helicopter to Toulouse where he died later. The other man was suffering from hypothermia. The avalanche risk was High (4/5) with 60-90cm of fresh snow in the area and accumulations of over 1 meter under the influence of a north-westerly wind. The avalanche bulletin warned of “soft slabs which can be triggered by the slightest load” on most aspects which could provoke fairly large avalanches.

In the Hautes-Alpes a 34 year old snow boarder was found last night after getting lost off piste in Risoul. He sent an SMS to his girlfriend who informed the rescue services. In nearby Ceillac a young off piste skier suffered back and head injuries yesterday afternoon jump cliffs.