The Savoie prefecture launched a call for vigilance in the mountains this Thursday.
Several accidents linked to avalanches in the department's massifs have been recorded.
A 13-year-old boy swept away by a snow slide died in the Les Arcs resort on Wednesday.
The call for vigilance in Savoie. The prefecture has sounded the alarm after several accidents linked to avalanches in the department's massifs. In recent days, the Northern Alps have recorded 40 to 70 cm of snow from 1500 meters, and 60 cm to 1 meter on most peaks.
“Remarkable quantities of snow accompanied by strong winds have recently affected the Savoyard massifs from the mid-mountains, significantly increasing the risk of avalanches.“, explains the prefecture in a press release. Present “at all altitudes and all orientations“, the avalanche risk”remains marked” (3/5) Thursday in the Beaufortain, Vanoise, Maurienne, Haute-Maurienne and Haute-Tarentaise massifs, which could cause “spontaneous avalanche departures“, it is detailed.
“All necessary precautions”
Over the last season, three out of four avalanche accidents took place.in times of marked risk“, underlines the prefecture, calling on the public to take “all necessary precautions” and to follow the advice of professionals. On Wednesday, in addition to the fatal avalanche, which took place off-piste on the Les Arcs area in the Aiguille rouge sector, Savoie deplored three other snow slides which caused three injured in total.
On Monday, still in Savoie, two teenagers aged 12 and 17, who were skiing off-piste with their father in Val d'Isère, were also swept away and injured by an avalanche. The same day, across the border, in the Swiss Alps, Swiss snowboarder Sophie Hediger, who has two World Cup podiums and had participated in the 2022 Olympics, died in an avalanche while she was off-piste.
-
Read also
Serial avalanches in the Alps: what equipment is recommended in the mountains?
Since the start of the year, at least 14 people have died in France in avalanches, according to the National Association for the Study of Snow and Avalanches (ANENA).
