Avalanche

News relating to avalanches. Check the Avalanche Bulletins when planning a trip outside of open ski slopes.

Wednesday, 06 March, 2002

1 dead 5 missing in Val d’Isère Avalanche

A search for five missing skiers from the Lyon in France will resume tomorrow in the Manchet valley in a zone at 2,100 meters altitude after the body of one of the missing had been located at nightfall.

Posted by davidof at 09:54 PM
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Sunday, 03 March, 2002

Two die in Arcs Avalanche

An avalanche killed two skiers close to the piste in Les Arcs at 13h40 yesterday. The skiers were part of two groups, one of four skiers and the other of eight who were off-piste in the Grand Col sector of les Arcs. The avalanche was between 2700 - 2800 meters altitude and caught four skiers. Two were rescued alive.

Posted by davidof at 06:30 PM
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Thursday, 28 February, 2002

Ski Instructor Killed in Vars Avalanche

A ski instructor was killed by an at 13h00 avalanche while skiing off-piste in Vars in the Hautes Alpes. The victim was in his sixties and died from his injuries in Briançon hospital. The man was found unconscious after having been dug out of the slide where he had been buried for 30 minutes.

Posted by davidof at 06:29 PM
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Monday, 25 February, 2002

Pisteur Killed in Tignes

A pisteur-artificier was killed at Tignes on Monday morning when he was caught by an avalanche on a slope he had just tried to clear with explosive. The victim was 27 years old, married and came from the Gard department.

Posted by davidof at 06:27 PM
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Sunday, 24 February, 2002

4 die in Separate Avalanche Incidents

There were 4 deaths in separate incidents the French Alpes over the weekend with an avalanche risk of 4 posted in the Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Ecrins (la Grave) and 3 in the Hautes-Alpes.

Posted by davidof at 06:24 PM
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Monday, 11 February, 2002

Boulder Climber Killed by La Grave Avalanche

Boulder, Colorado climber Freddie Snalam was killed by an avalanche at La Grave in the Hautes Alpes today. 55 year old Freddie was a popular figure in the Boulder outdoor scene.

Posted by davidof at 09:51 PM
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Thursday, 07 February, 2002

Michel Sigo Killed in Savoie Avalanche

Michel “Sigo” de Bernardy de Sigoyer, a well known and loved 54 year old Grenoble man was caught in an avalanche while ski touring in the Lauzière massive.

Posted by davidof at 06:20 PM
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Sunday, 27 January, 2002

Avalanches Kill 6

Six off-piste skiers have been killed since Friday in the French Alpes after being caught by three separate avalanches in Savoie, Haute-Savoie and the Isère, where the mountain ranges are presently covered by a particularly unstable snow mantle.

Posted by davidof at 08:02 PM
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Friday, 25 January, 2002

Skier Caught by Ax Avalanche

A skier was buried by an avalanche in the Pyrenean resort of Ax-Bonascre, close to the spa town of Ax-the-Thermes in the Ariége department. The skier was on a closed back piste at around 16h00 in conditions made hazardess due to a snow storm when the accident happened. A large rescue team, including 20 mountain police, firemen, pisteurs and paramedics were dispatched. The body was recovered but pronounced dead at 18h20 by a doctor on the scene.

Posted by davidof at 09:00 PM
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Sunday, 30 December, 2001

3 Skiers caught in Avalanche in La Clusaz

A large avalanche caught a group of six off-piste skiers close to the Aiguille in the Combe Borderant sector at La Clusaz today. The group were skiing on a closed piste. Two of the skiers survived after having been buried under 3 meters of snow a the third was rescued in a serious condition and airlifted to a hospital in Geneva. He later died of his injuries. He had a 9 year old daughter. The avalanche risk in resort was 4.

Posted by davidof at 07:58 PM
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