Huge avalanche kills four in Val d’Isére

11th January 2011, by Chris Gill

In 2006 Val got hit by this monster ...

A massive avalanche in the French resort of Val d’Isére has left four skiers dead, including one Briton.

The avalanche struck at 10:30am on Tuesday 11 January and measured almost 300m wide and 750m long. It broke off at 2800m in the Vallonnets / Grand Vallons area of the resort, above Le Fornet, and descended as far as the Isére stream.

The victims were skiing as part of an off-piste group of seven, including their instructor, when they were swept away. All were carrying transceivers and located quickly, but sadly four died.

A fifth person was partly buried, but survived uninjured. According to Henry’s Avalanche Talk (HAT), the group were with Top Ski and led by guide Didier Moreau, who survived.

A spokesman for the mountain rescue said: ‘It was a very, very big avalanche. We don’t yet know what set it off. We have launched an investigation.’ Although the region has received up to half a metre of fresh snow during the past few days, local avalanche warnings were moderate – level two, rising to three (on a scale of five) – but with a risk of weakly-bonded layers of old snow above 2200m. North-facing slopes are especially prone.

• avalanche
• valdisere

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