An American tourist went missing on a hike from Verbier to the Louvie Hut (‘Cabane de Louvie’) on Wednesday, July 3. The 77-year-old woman got lost during the approximately four-hour hike in the region of Col de Termin, and the cantonal police initiated a ground search. When the ground search remained unsuccessful, the Swiss Army was called for support. A Super Puma helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging camera was able to locate the missing woman on Thursday morning around 5:30 a.m., and the American woman was taken to a nearby hospital with undetermined but not life-threatening injuries.
In a press release the cantonal police expressed their gratitude to the Swiss Army for helping with the search and rescue. Without the help of the thermal imaging equipment by the Swiss Army, locating the 77-year-old woman may have been delayed considerably.
The Louvie Hut is on several Alpine itineraries and mountain trails, such as the Tour des Cabanes, Tour du Val de Bagnes, Haute Route Chamonix-Zermatt, and Trail no. 6. The Louvie mountain hut often provides a crucial overnight stop for experienced hikers but it is important to note that access to the Haut Val de Bagnes is currently blocked due to bad weather. The Le Châble Fionnay route is also cut off and there is no road access to the bottom of the valley. The Chamois trail (Ruinettes to Col de Termin) has several spots that are covered in snow and adequate equipment is required. The Col de Louvie and Col de Pralfeui are still very snowy at this point. Please remain extremely vigilant when it comes to hiking as some paths remain completely inaccessible at this time. Please check with the local tourist office before setting out in the mountains. The Fionnay tourist office is closed at this time until further notice.
