Six skiers, including a Briton, die in French Alps after weekend avalanches
Separate incidents saw off-piste skiers buried in snow and hurled against trees
In certain conditions, a single skier in an off-piste section of a resort can cause an avalanche. Photo for illustrative purposes only
Marcus Placidus/Shutterstock
A deadly weekend in the Alps saw six skiers including a British national die in avalanche-related incidents.
In all five incidents skiers were off-piste despite warnings from state forecaster Météo France and prefectural authorities about the risk of the activity.
On Saturday (January 10), two skiers died in Val-d'Isère (Savoie) after an avalanche buried them in 2.5 metres of snow. Members of their group skiing with them alerted authorities but they were announced dead at the scene following emergency services arriving.
A third skier died in the Arêches Beaufort resort (also in Savoie). Skiing off-piste, he was caught in an avalanche alongside a companion.
A patroller at the resort noticed from snow patterns that an avalanche was imminent. He launched his detector and soon after found the two skiers trapped in the snow.
One was buried up to his neck and had sustained severe injuries during the incident, and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. The other was pronounced dead at the scene however.
Sunday (January 11) saw three separate incidents at Courchevel and La Plagne (both in Savoie) and Vallorcine (Haute-Savoie).
At La Plagne, a British skier going off-piste was found buried under 2.5 metres of snow following an avalanche.
Around 50 gendarmes, ski instructors, and mountain rescue units were deployed to look for him after warnings were raised in the early afternoon about his disappearance. They found him nearly an hour later, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident at Vallorcine saw a 32-year old skiing off-piste caught in an avalanche that threw his body against a tree without burying him in the snow. The injuries from the impact resulted in his death.
Off-piste warnings continue
Heightened avalanche warnings were in place over the weekend, with Météo France warning on Friday that instability across the Alps in several countries led to a tier four out of five warning on the European Avalanche Danger Scale.
It warned at such levels of instability, the passage of a single skier in an area could cause an avalanche, and urged ‘extreme caution’ for those skiing outside of marked ‘piste’ (designed to minimise the risk of causing avalanches).
Likewise, the Savoie prefectures, where five of the six deaths were recorded, also posted warnings against off-piste skiing on social media.
Chief of staff of the Savoie prefecture Marie Wencker criticised the “skiers who went off-piste despite the risks,” in a statement on Monday (January 12), quoted in France Ici.
“What I want to emphasise is that by risking their lives, skiers who engage in activities that are currently unsuitable given the situation are also putting the entire rescue operation at risk, as they operate in sometimes difficult conditions. This is why I urge everyone to exercise extra caution.”
Level 4 avalanches warnings remain in the Maurienne, Vanoise, Beaufortain and Tarentaise areas this morning.
“Let's wait until the snowpack stabilizes so that we can once again practice these activities safely,” Mrs Wencker added.
Warnings against off-piste skiing were previously raised at the start of the year due to low snowfall, leading to prominent rocky outcrops posing a risk to skiers.
An American skier died in Savoie after a fall during an off-piste expedition at the start of the year, smashing his head against a rock. He died despite wearing a helmet.
Despite the risk, off-piste skiing is not illegal at French resorts.
