The mountain rescue gendarmes of the PGHM of Pierrefitte-Nestalas in the Hautes-Pyrénées are calling for caution following an increase in falls and other slips that have occurred in recent hours. No less than 5 interventions, yesterday Saturday December 28, 2024.
Company
From daily life to major issues, discover the subjects that make up local society, such as justice, education, health and family.
France Télévisions uses your email address to send you the “Society” newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link at the bottom of this newsletter. Our privacy policy
This Sunday, December 29, 2024 promises to be another busy one for the mountain rescue gendarmes of the Pierrefitte-Nestalas PGHM in the Hautes-Pyrénées. At the end of the morning, here they are preparing to leave to rescue a person who slipped at Pic de Cagire, in Comminges in Haute-Garonne.
But since Friday noon, the rescuers have not been idle. Yesterday Saturday, they intervened on five interventions. This is due to the seemingly favorable weather conditions for enjoying the mountains with lots of sunshine, but which make the snow cover unstable:
With the frosts at night, we have hard snow in the morning but in the afternoon, with the sun, it changes, it is more unstable and can easily throw you off balance
A mountain rescue gendarme from the Pierrefitte-Nestalas PGHM
The peloton's rescuer notes that the good weather attracted a lot of people to the resorts and to the mountains this weekend.
On Saturday, a piste skier fell in Cauterêts and complained of severe pain in her right hip. The PGHM gendarmes evacuated him with the Chouca 65 helicopter to the hospital.
A few minutes later, they left again to rescue a 24-year-old young man hiking in the Col de Madamète area in the Néouvielle massif. The hiker had unscrewed his crampons and suffered from spinal trauma.
Then back to Cauterêts, where this time a 48-year-old woman lost her balance on a patch of ice in the Pont d'Espagne parking lot. His fall caused head trauma.
In the Hautacam sector in Beaucens, a 54-year-old woman also slipped for around a hundred meters while she was progressing down a slope. Miraculously, she was only injured in the ankle and reached the emergency room by road and on her own.
Finally, at the Luz-Ardiden station, a ski lift agent was hit by a 50-year-old skier. The victim was injured in the thorax.
PGHM rescuers therefore call for caution due to the freezing and thawing phenomenon between night and day. “This cycle reinforces this idea of spring conditions”underlines the rescuer. The Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture also reminds some instructions in a Facebook post:
Mountain lovers are therefore advised to have good equipment and not hesitate to readjust their route.
“You must be aware that depending on the slopes, progress can be difficult. The slopes which are in the shade are as hard as tiles, there is no risk of falling. On snowshoes, you must have crampons”; insists the policeman. You should not go on big slopes, as we saw yesterday, with the hiker who went downhill, the crust had softened a lot in the afternoon, it was inconsistent. Fortunately, she's doing well but we can get through it.”
Identical weather conditions are forecast over the coming days. Furthermore, Météo France classifies the avalanche risk at level 2 until 5 p.m. this evening in the Pyrenees.
