Avalanche
Hi everyone, I usually share my passion for snowkiting with you in a positive and joyful way.
This time I want to share with you our mishap that happened to us with my friend Lionel and myself last Wednesday, January 20th, 2021, on the North-East face of the Chaillol ridge at the Col du Lautaret (Serre Chevalier Brianรงon, Monetier-Les-Bains sector, Hautes-Alpes 05, France).
Lionel and I made the decision to share this video with the aim of raising awareness about the risks of avalanches in the mountains, and also with the aim of telling you what happened that day.
At the moment the snowpack is unstable, it is risky to venture into slopes of more than 30%. We had an incredible chance to make it out alive, especially Lionel, and we are aware of it.
It is important to remember that we must all be equipped with avalanche transceivers, shovels, and probes when we venture into the mountains, it can save our lives.
Lionel got away with a sprained ligament in his knee, it could have been much worse.
I would like to thank the person who joined me to help Lionel, whom I thought was under the avalanche, it turned out that Lionel managed to get out of the avalanche on his own.
There were therefore no seriously injured or dead victims in this avalanche. May this video serve as a lesson to all of us, we are never safe from an avalanche triggered accidentally or whose origin is natural.
My friends, be careful in your mountain activities, we will never repeat it enough, go out equipped and informed.
Sportingly,
Laurent.
And also realize that snowsports activities in the mountains though considered seemingly somewhat ‘normal’ human behavior is actually still very radical at times primarily due to the fact of the ‘acceptable’ level of risk one takes in such pursuits.
This often includes our perception of avalanche potential and how we minimize such actual risk.
One major factor that is rarely discussed is the psychology behind such decision making in pursuit of our fun and recreation.
Glad all turned out ok, whew, close enough call for sure.