Pyrenean Avalanche Kills Backcountry Skier

A 47 year old woman was killed by an avalanche in the Pic de Burat mountain range near to the Pyrenean town of Gouaux-de-Luchon in the Haute-Garonne. 

The victim was on a ski tour with her husband and a work colleague between Saint-Béat and Bagnères-de-Luchon.  An eyewitness described how he met the trio at 11h30 while climbing the Pic de Burat (2154m) at around 1600 meters close to the cabane Salode.  The husband and the colleague traversed a slope followed by the woman.  She was caught by a small slide and was then hit by a second much larger avalanche of some 500 by 100 meters and 1 meter deep.  The two men and the eyewitness carried out an initial search with their avalanche beacons.  At the same time they alerted the mountain police (CRS) from Bagnères-de-Luchon who sent a helicopter and rescue dog and handler from Luchon.  Despite their rapid arrival on the scene the woman, a resident of Cugnaux in the Toulouse suburbs, was found dead buried under 5 meters of snow.

Posted by davidof on Friday, 28 February, 2003 at 07:04 PM

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