A skier triggered and was buried by an avalanche while skiing inbounds at Val Thorens, France, on the resort’s opening day Saturday.
The 36-year-old man was skiing off-piste at 9,186 feet on the north face of the Cime de Carron when he triggered the slide. The avalanche was 27″ deep, 229 feet wide, and carried him 1,150 feet down the slope.
The man was buried under more than three feet of snow but was found conscious within 15 minutes after patrollers saw his fingers sticking out of the snow. He was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution and released without injury.
The avalanche risk was three, and the bulletin warned that slabs could be triggered on any slope aspect by a single skier.