Two Backcountry Skiers Swept Away by Avalanche Near Matterhorn, Switzerland, Plunging 2,600 Feet to Their Death

On Sunday, May 19, an avalanche on the Pigne d’Arolla near the famous Matterhorn in Switzerland swept away and killed two backcountry skiers. A third person in their group was not caught in the slide and alerted authorities.

The group of three highly experienced backcountry skiers was traveling on the Haute Route (high route) between Chamonix and Zermatt when the accident occurred. It is unclear at this stage which exact route the group had taken. The accident occured at 7:30 a.m., meaning the group likely stayed over night in one of the many mountain huts along the route. The Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt typically takes three days.

The group was climbing the north face to the summit of the Pigne d’Arolla when an avalanche broke for reasons yet to be established. The avalanche swept away two Italians and swept them 2,600 feet (800 meters) down the north face. The alarmed rescue workers could only recover the two people dead at the foot of the north face. The third alpinist was not captured by the avalanche and remained uninjured.

According to regional newspaper Lecco Notizie, the deceased are 36-year-old Massimo “Max” Ratti and 49-year-old Valentino Alquà from Germanedo near Lecco, Italy. Lecco is about halfway between Milan and St. Moritz. The news of the death of the two mountaineers has left the entire city of Lecco in shock. The deceased were both well-known and highly regarded in the mountaineering world in Italy. Ratti worked for the Asen Park Mountaineering group while Alquà other worked for the Alpine Rescue in Bione.

“Two young lives were taken from the mountain. Two experienced mountaineers from Lecco, Valentino Alquà and Massimo Ratti, have today lost their lives in the Swiss Alps, overwhelmed by an avalanche,” writes Giacomo Zamperini, President of the Mountain Commission of the Lombardi region, “I remember Max with his stubborn determination to go further and defend his passions and beliefs, always with a smile.” Zamperini stresses how experienced the two mountaineers were, “we are not talking about clueless or unprepared people,” his parting words full of emotion, hoping “that they can be welcomed in the mountaineer’s paradise, where the snow is soft and white and where the mountains are certainly present. Rest in peace.”

The Pigne d’Arolla is a 12,425-foot (3,787-meter) peak about 2.5 miles from the Arolla ski resort, part of the Espace Dent Blanche Ski Area. The Pigne d’Arolla has two peaks, with the north summit being the higher and more popular of the two. The south summit reaches a top elevation of 12,375 feet (3,772 meters) and stands atop a craggy rock face with a horseshoe-shaped valley below.

In addition to the cantonal police, the KWRO144, with avalanche search dogs, and four helicopters of the Air-Glaciers and Air Zermatt were in operation.

The public prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation.

This takes the number of avalanche deaths in Switzerland this season to 22, slightly above the 20-year mean of 22.