An avalanche near Ceillac in the Hautes Alpes yesterday has left one dead and two injured. The accident occurred at around 12h30 near the Collet de Sainte Anne at around 2500 meters altitude below the Pic des Heuvières. The injured were part of a French Alpine Club (CAF) ski touring party with 20 members. The CAF group were from in Albertville in the Savoie. They were spending a week in the region.
The group were descending at the time of the incident. The avalanche risk was Considerable (⅗) above 2200 meters altitude in the sector. The three victims were rescued by their colleagues. All the group were equipped with avalanche beacons and shovels. Setting off earlier in the day the group had been advised to change their objectives by pisteurs in view of the avalanche conditions and had selected this new route. It had rained the day before to 2700 meters then snowed 10 to 15 cm with the freezing line dropping rapidly to around 1000 meters. The group were on an east facing slope which had re humidified with the morning sun and broke to ground level on a layer of depth hoar.