Posted on: 2014-12-13 09:50:33 by davidof

Skier injured by avalanche at Barèges

As we noted on twitter a large amount of fresh snow above 2000 meters and storm force winds have created considerable avalanche risk at altitude in the Pyrenees and Southern Alpes. On Thursday a skier was injured above Barèges in the Pyrenees.

On Thursday morning as a group of four skiers reached the summit of the pic de Barbe (2.450 m) above the ski resort of Barèges the first couple of skiers triggered a slab which carried them over small cliffs and partially buried them. Their friends were able to dig them out and call the high mountain police rescue (PGHM). One of the victims suffered a knee injury and was taken to hospital in Tarbes. He had hit a rock during the fall. The PGHM called for prudence "above 1800 meters altitude you should either make a U-turn or be very careful as their are slabs and large amounts of snow that can slide at the first sign of sunlight. The danger is across the whole mountain range at the moment."

Meteo France has also warned that the recent snowfall coupled with strong north winds have created large accumulations of snow in zones that are avalanche prone. The slabs are unstable and are mainly to be found at altitude, near to ridges and on shaded slopes. Sitting on a weak layer they can be triggered by a single skier or snowshoer.

Further Information

http://twitter.com/davidzof/status/542732993211940864 - twitter warning
Review of 2013/14 avalanche incidents

Location

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