We heard through the forum SkiPass that the 2nd victim died later in hospital.
Posted by davidof on Thursday, 11 March, 2004 at 05:54 PM
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Two ski mountaineers have been hit by an avalanche in the Belledonne mountain range in the French Alps. A 19 year old woman, Marie Gros-Perrin and resident of Cognin in the Savoie, was killed and a 28 year old man, Cédric Charvet, resident of Bassens in the Savoie, is in a serious condition in the University Hospital at la Tronche.
The avalanche occured at 1800 meters close to the Antoine Cros[1] refuge in the Allevard sector of the mountains. The refuge is on the popular ski tour of the Puy Gris and the route above the refuge is on 35 degree slopes. M. Charvet was on touring skis and Mme Grosperrin was on snow shoes carrying a snowboard on her rucksack The alert was given at 12h15 by members of the group on snow shoes. The avalanche measured 250 by 50 meters. The man was found rapidly thanks to his avalanche transceiver and taken to hospital by helicopter but in an extremely serious condition[2]. The woman was found at 15h15 by a rescue dog. She was buried under 50cm of snow, her sack and snowboard appear to have acted as an anchor keeping her under the avalanche. Our sources suggest that she was not wearing an avalanche transceiver. Off-piste users are reminded that it is imperative to rescue people in the shortest delay possible and that a transceiver, shovel and probe are vital pieces of off-piste equipment.
Recent snow, mixed with sand from the Sahara, had been accompanied by very strong south-east winds. The avalanche risk in the area was 2 [moderate].
[1]The refuge is named after Antoine Cros who was behind the development of skiing in the Allevard area and founded the Allevard ski club in 1923. The refuge is also called l’Oule.
Update:
[2]We heard that the man died several days later as a result of his injuries.
We heard through the forum SkiPass that the 2nd victim died later in hospital.