A 39 year Briançonnais was completely buried for 20 minutes by an avalanche while ski touring above the resort of Puy St Vincent in the Haute-Alpes department. The avalanche occurred at 2600 meters in the vallon de Narreyroux. He and his ski partner were descending from the col des Queyrettes. His partner was below the slide and had to climb back up the slope to start the search which delayed the rescue. The victim was found unconscious thanks to his avalanche beacon. With no phone signal in the valley his friend called the rescue services (CRS) after recovering the victim and the man was subsequently airlifted to hospital in Briançon suffering from hypothermia and minor injuries. The slab was described as “small” but “sufficient to bury the victim under 1 meter of snow”. There have been a number of avalanches, both natural and skier triggered, in the area over the last few days following light snow accompanied by high winds.