After several accidents linked to avalanches in the department's massifs, including one leading to the death of a teenager, the Savoie prefecture launched a call for vigilance in the mountains on Thursday December 26.
“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.
Here “at all altitudes and all orientations”the avalanche risk “remains marked” (3 out of 5) Thursday in the Beaufortain, Vanoise, Maurienne, Haute-Maurienne and Haute-Tarentaise massifs, which may cause “spontaneous avalanche departures”it is detailed.
Over the last season, three out of four avalanche accidents took place “during periods of marked risk”further underlines the prefecture, calling on the public to take “all necessary precautions” and follow professional advice.
In Savoie, four snowfalls in twenty-four hours
On Wednesday, in addition to the fatal avalanche, which took place off-piste in the Les Arcs area in the Aiguille Rouge sector, Savoie experienced three other snow slides which left three people injured in total, according to the prefecture.
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 Winter Olympics, died in an avalanche while She was going off-piste.
In recent days, the Northern Alps have recorded 40 to 70 centimeters of snow from 1,500 meters, and 60 centimeters to 1 meter on most massifs. From 500 meters above sea level, snow is present from Haute-Savoie to Hautes-Alpes, according to Météo-France.
