Avalanche
[UPDATED: December 27]
An avalanche swept through an off-piste route on the Bellecôte massif in La Plagne, France, shortly before noon on Friday, December 26, injuring several skiers and triggering a large-scale rescue operation involving helicopters, doctors, and avalanche dogs. One of the injured skiers—the group’s guide—later died in hospital.
According to French authorities, a group of six skiers—including a professional guide from La Plagne—was descending the Rodzins Couloir on the north face of Bellecôte, a steep and well-known off-piste line above the resort. Four of the skiers, including the guide, were carried and buried while the other two alerted authorities. The La Plagne mountain rescue teams received an alert at 11:47 a.m. The High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) of Savoie deployed two helicopters to the scene, carrying five rescuers, two doctors, and a dog handler.
Rescuers reported that an initial slab fracture approximately 2 meters wide released near the top of the couloir, followed by a second, much larger slide measuring up to 200 meters wide. Three members of the group were buried in the debris, while a fourth skier remained on the surface. Thanks to avalanche beacons worn by the skiers, two of the buried victims were located by 12:10 p.m. The third skier had been partially buried and had managed to free themselves and was evacuated to Bourg-Saint-Maurice hospital without mild injuries.
One of the buried skiers, a 60-year-old man, was found in cardiac arrest. After approximately 15 minutes of resuscitation efforts, rescuers were able to restart his heart. He was transferred to hospital but died later that day. The second buried skier, a 50-year-old woman, suffered multiple traumatic injuries. She was airlifted to Grenoble University Hospital (CHU). The partially buried skier was also transported to Bourg-Saint-Maurice for medical evaluation.
The avalanche danger on December 26 was rated 2 out of 5 (“moderate”) on the French avalanche scale, according to the latest bulletin from Météo-France. Despite the relatively low rating, authorities stress that off-piste terrain—especially steep north-facing couloirs—can still present serious hazards.
An investigation has been opened by PGHM Savoie to determine the exact causes of the avalanche.
In addition, another skier died in a separate avalanche in the Savoie region near Albertville. The avalanche occurred around 4 p.m. at Mount Jovet, at an altitude of 2,300 meters. The avalanche swept away four backcountry skiers. One of the was found in cardiac arrest and could not be revived. The other two skiers were evacuated with minor injuries.
