A 27-year-old ski hiker lost his life on Friday in the Arolla region (VS), after being swept away by an avalanche. Emergency services quickly found the unfortunate man under the snow. The young man died of his injuries at Sion hospital.
The victim was walking with another hiker. The two men were moving at a good distance from each other on the Chelion glacier towards the Pas de Chèvre ladders, Valais cantonal police said in a press release on Saturday.
“At one point, the snow mass gave way under the victim’s skis” and he was carried to the bottom of the slope. Rescue guides and avalanche dog handlers arrived on the scene aboard an Air-Glaciers helicopter.
It was quickly located
The hiker was quickly located under the snow. He was revived before being taken to Sion hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, said the Valais police. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation.
The snow that fell over the Christmas period in the Alps increased the danger of avalanches. The risk is “marked”, i.e. 3 on a scale of 5, in a large part of the Alpine arc, according to the bulletin from the Institute for the Study of Snow and Avalanches
Our report: Faced with avalanche danger, hard work to secure the slopes
