Three ski tourers killed by Queyras avalanche

Three ski tourers, two men and a woman have been killed by a large avalanche on the Pointe Joanne (3052 meters) in the Southern Alps. A fourth person has been taken to hospital in Briançon but without serious injury. The slide measured 400 meters and run over 800 meters.

The skiers were part of a group of 16 from Grenoble in the Isere department. They were described as “experienced” by the police and a number were well known to the local ski community.  12 of the group were caught by the slide which occurred at 9h00. The Pointe Joanne is close to the community of Ristolas.

Meteo France had given the avalanche risk as Considerable (3/5) for the Queyras. The refreeze was okay but spontaneous avalanches were to be expected at the end of the morning. More importantly 50-100cm of fresh snow had fallen in the Mont Viso sector over the last 48 hours. The sector had over 2 meters of snow 8 days ago. Strong winds from the east to south-east formed new slabs close to cols and ridges. There was a risk of skier triggered avalanches in these sectors.