The return to much colder weather after a mild spell has caught a number of skiers unaware. It was -4.4C today 7am at 1800 meters altitude in the ski resort of Chamrousse and many slopes were covered in a thin layer of black ice. In the Belledonne range to the north east of Grenoble there was a series of accidents including two deaths.
In the first incident a 57 year old man was killed on steep col des Lances route. This forms part of the classic and long tour of the Grande Lance de Domène. The slopes on either side of the col are steep - around 40 degrees and exposed on the west side. The accident occured at 2200 meters altitude. It appears he lost his footing and fell 200 meters over cliffs. A man also died after sliding some 500 meters on the Grande Lance de Domène. A ski mountaineer died on this route on the 20th March last year after making a route finding error and falling in a steep couloir. Christophe Ancey from Volopress who skied the Grande Lance today described the conditions as “slippery with a very hard layer of glass like snow on the surface”. Both victims were local.
There was an avalanche on the north face of Mont Maudit above the col du Maudit at around 05h00 yesterday. This is the normal Trois Mont Blancs route to the summit of Mont Blanc. Around 15 skiers found themselves caught by the slide and 5 were injured.
Alerted by radio by witneeses the PGHM arrived rapidly on the scene and made an extensive search with an avalanche rescue dog and avalanche beacons but no-one was buried by the slide.
Posted by
davidof on Tuesday, 02 May, 2006 at 05:59 PM
The Dauphine Libere newspaper has named the two men as Jean-Louis Matringe, aged 57 from Revel in the Belledonne and Franck Janon, aged 32, from Coublevie in the Isère.
In les Deux Alpes a snowboarder has been missing since Friday in the Chalance sector between the resort and la Grave. Only the snowboard belonging to Thomas Saddier, aged 21, has so far been found in one of the couloirs. The visibility was limited on Friday afternoon when the young man vanished and he was only lightly dressed. Police hold out little hope for finding the snowboarder alive.
Posted by
davidof on Tuesday, 02 May, 2006 at 11:58 PM
Doese someone knows if the body of thomas SADDIER has been discovered? Some weeks ago i saw a very sad message in the newspaper LE MONDE from his family.
Jean from NANTES
Posted by on Sunday, 18 June, 2006 at 05:50 PM
Hello Jean,
Personally I have not heard or read of any further news about Thomas. I will update this thread if there is anything.
David
Posted by
davidof on Wednesday, 21 June, 2006 at 05:15 PM
Thomas has been found in early july. from a sad old friend of him
Posted by on Tuesday, 05 September, 2006 at 11:24 AM
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