A teenager from La Ravoire close to Chambéry has been killed today in an accident on the north facing Grand Couloirs of the Grand Casse. The 16 year old man was ski touring with his father when he lost his footing in the bottom half of the couloir.
The accident happened in the late morning as the pair were descening the couloir situated above the ski resort of Pralognan in the Vanoise national park. In a separate incident another person was injured by rockfall in the same spot and was taken to hospital by a helicoper from the Bourg St Maurice mountain police.
The Grand Couloirs are the normal descent for ski mountaineers from the Grand Casse. The couloir is inclined at 40°. Snow conditions had recently been described as ‘hard’. Last Sunday a skier had a narrow escape when he fell in the couloirs and was saved by a quick thinking witness.
dg/c2c,no