Two Avalanches Kill Four Climbers in Switzerland on Saturday

A 40-year-old British female climber was caught and killed in an avalanche along with a 50-year-old Swiss male this weekend in the Swiss Alps.  They were only 100 vertical feet from the summit of 11,000 foot Pointes de Mourti when a 330-foot wide avalanche hit them at 7:25am on Saturday, July 19th, 2014.

Four other climbers were caught in the avalanche and survived.  One of the survivors called rescuers and three helicopters arrived at the accident scene.  All four of the survivors were injured and taken to the hospital in Sion.

A second avalanche in Switzerland killed two more climbers on Saturday.  A 28-year-old Swiss man and a 30-year-old German were killed.  These two were descending the 13,848-foot Zinalrothorn when the avalanche struck at 3:30pm on Saturday.

At this time, it’s being reported that high temperatures on Saturday likely caused instability in snow and ice in the Swiss Alps that lead to these avalanche fatalities.

Be careful out there.