Accidents
Sunday, 03 June, 2007
Skier killed in the Cosmiques Couloir
A skier has been killed in the Cosmiques couloir today around 11h00. The man, who lived in the Grenoble area, lost his grip on ice and fell 500 meters. The couloir had a goulotte (ice band) in the middle. The couloir is reached on the west (Bossons) side of the Aiguille du Midi. It often requires roping up to reach the skiing. News of the accident has shaken members of the elite ski mountaineering fraternity in Grenoble who knew the victim well.
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Tuesday, 29 May, 2007
Two dead in French snow storms
The return to winter has had fatal consequences for two hikers on the island of Corsica last night. The walkers were in separate groups and were trapped when a winter storm broke over the island bringing sub-zero temperatures and limited visibility. One person plucked to safety by the mountain police today described how he had sheltered behind a rock as wind speeds reached 200 km/h driving snow into deep drifts. Both victims were residents of the French mainland.
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Sunday, 29 April, 2007
Series of accidents in the Alps
Despite snow cover resembling the end of May the conditions remain dangerous. The principal risk is from falls on hard snow but a Finnish ski mountaineer was caught by a slab avalanche today while skiing below les Bosses (4513 m) on the north face of Mont-Blanc. The incident occurred at 9h30 at around 4500 meters altitude. The man was carried 150 meters down the slope and was found by rescue workers from the PGHM from Chamonix buried under a meter of snow in a rimaye. Eye witnesses told us that he was the first of a group tackling the north face and the slab ruptured beneath his skis.
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Tuesday, 17 April, 2007
Sun and clear skies bring icy conditions
A number of serious falls over the past week are a reminder that we are well into the spring skiing period. Clear skies and low overnight temperatures make the snow glass hard in the morning and standard equipment for ski tourers should include ski crampons (harscheisen), ice ax and crampons with a climbing helmet for steeper routes where there is a risk of stonefall. Yesterday our good friend Marco was helping skiers at the Col des Ecrins when one of them slid and fell over a 30 meter cliff face.
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Sunday, 08 April, 2007
Avalanche close to the col d’Izoard
A women in her forties, resident of the Alpes de Haute-Provence, has been seriously injured by an avalanche in the Haute-Alpes. The slide carried the woman some 300 meters down the slope. The accident occured yesterday morning at 10h30 around 2500 meters altitude above the col d’Izoard close to Briancon.
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Sunday, 01 April, 2007
Climbers injured by avalanche in the Belledonne
Four climbers from Lyon have been caught by an avalanche just before midday in the Belledonne mountains in the French Alps. They were climbing a couloir located on the north face of the Grande Lance de Domène. The first climber was just exiting the top of the couloir when he triggered a small slab avalanche. The snow slide caught two of the climbers and carried them over 300 meters down the slope.
Image: camp2camp.com
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Tuesday, 27 March, 2007
Fatal avalanche at Chamonix
A skier has been killed after been carried over cliffs by a small avalanche yesterday. The accident occured in the Brevent sector around noon at 2100 meters altitude. The 27 year old man, a resident of Chamonix, was killed by the 30 meter fall.
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Sunday, 25 March, 2007
Lost
You would think that a map and compass would be standard kit when heading into the mountains, especially with the low cloud that has enveloped the summits over the last week bringing with it almost zero visibility at times. Two major rescue operations this weekend and a number of other anecdotes suggest that many backcountry travelers are auditioning for a part in Lost.
Where did I leave the map and compass?
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Sunday, 11 March, 2007
Weekend of unstable snow conditions in the Isère
The weekend has seen some very unstable snow conditions in the Isère following a drop in temperatures, strong winds and fresh snow down to 800 meters. On Saturday ski tourers in the department were surprised to trigger a number of avalanches in the mountains well below the 2400 meter level specified in the area’s avalanche bulletin where the risk moved from Moderate (2/3) to Considerable (3/5).
Fare canyon, scene of an avalanche today
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8 months for ski instructor
A ski instructor, accused of manslaughter for not having respected his safety obligation towards his clients, has been sentenced to 8 months in prison (suspended) by the court in Nice. On the 4th of February last year Jean-Alexandre Echene, an experienced and popular ski instructor in the ski resort of Isola 2000, was hired by the Darmon family to guide them on some of the area’s off-piste runs.
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