A skier fell 50 meters to his death on Mont Blanc after a snow bridge covering a crevasse gave way. The accident occured yesterday in the early afternoon as the man was skiing alone on the Mont Vallet slopes. Another skier witnessed the accident and called the rescue services.
There are a number of fatal accidents involving crevasses each year on glaciers in France. The most famous victim was Louis Lachenal, the first man to stand on an 8,000 meter peak. He died skiing the Vallée Blanche in November, a time when snowbridges are particuarly fragile. The longer spring days also see an increase in accidents of this type.