Accidents

Friday, 17 April, 2009

The one that got away

A 35 year old ski tourer has been caught by an avalanche above Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye in the Alpes de Haute-Provence late yesterday morning. Climbing alone he could have become just another one of these years statistics but fate decided otherwise.

Posted by davidof at 09:23 AM
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Tuesday, 14 April, 2009

Dramatic avalanche rescue at Val d’Isere

Henry Schniewind has sent us information about an avalanche rescue operation at Val d’Isere yesterday. Three ski tourers were buried climbing to the Point Pers. The avalanche released 200 metres above them, probably due to remote triggering and was 400 meters wide. The slope is west facing at around 3500 meters altitude.

Posted by davidof at 09:41 AM
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Monday, 13 April, 2009

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.

Posted by davidof at 02:26 PM
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Crevasse victim slams bad Samaritans

René and his friend, Fredo were skiing the glacier du Gébroulaz on the first Saturday in April. The Gébroulaz links Val Thorens with Meribel-Mottaret. The were crossing the crevassed section on the lower part of the glacier when a snow bridge broke under René and he plunged 40 meters into a crevasse.

Posted by davidof at 09:49 AM
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Guide killed by crevasse fall on Mont-Blanc

A 39 year old guide has been killed on the glacier d’Argentière in the Mont Blanc range yesterday morning at around 10h30. The man was running a crevasse rescue course with two clients.

Posted by davidof at 09:30 AM
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Saturday, 04 April, 2009

Avalanche at Val d’Isère

A family group with a ski instructor have been caught by an avalanche off piste in Val d’Isère. One of the group, a 21 year old man, was taken by helicopter to Grenoble in a critical conditions.

Posted by davidof at 09:09 PM
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Friday, 27 March, 2009

Shane McConkey dies in the Dolomites

Freeskier Shane McConkey has been killed in the Dolomites after a ski/BASE jump stunt he was performing went horribly wrong. It appears that one of his skis failed to release and he was unable to deploy his chute. McConkey is survived by his wife and young daughter.

Posted by tpod at 12:17 PM
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Sunday, 22 March, 2009

Extreme skier killed on the rampe de Chauchefoin

A 28 year old ski mountaineer has been killed yesterday falling on the “rampe de Chauchefoin” on the Pointe de Blonnière (2369 meters) in the Aravis range near the ski resort of La Giettaz. A group of four skiers had completed the route and were descending around 10am on the 45 degree slope. One of the skiers missed a turn and fell 400 meters over cliffs. The victim was local from the Maurienne.

Posted by davidof at 07:54 AM
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Thursday, 19 March, 2009

Increase in avalanche deaths for Winter 2009

This winter (1st December to 1st March) 19 people died in avalanche accidents in France. This is close to the average established since 2000 but 3 more than the median figure for the period reflecting the unstable conditions, particularly during January.

avalanche rescue

Posted by davidof at 07:12 PM
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Saturday, 07 March, 2009

Three ski tourers killed by avalanche in North Belledonne

Three ski tourers have been killed by an avalanche in the North Belledonne close to Chambery. The skiers were heading for Le Chapotet in the commune of Presle. It is the most serious avalanche accident in France this season.

Le Chapotet (archive photo, early May).