A major avalanche was triggered shortly before noon on Wednesday in the Tortin sector, above Nendaz (VS), and a major rescue operation was deployed. An off-piste skier has died.
The OCVS144 plant was informed shortly before noon of a major avalanche which had started in Tortin, at a place called Louettes Econdouè, on the Nendaz side, off the marked trails. Faced with the magnitude of the avalanche, eight helicopters were hired as well as dog handlers and the cantonal police.
The extensive search deployed made it possible to release a skier, who had died. He is a 58-year-old Russian national. The search continued in the afternoon in order to exclude the presence of other victims. The Valais public prosecutor has opened an investigation.
Already a victim on Monday above Nendaz
Already on Monday, a 28-year-old Dutch skier had been carried away and killed at midday by a flow in the town of Nendaz. He was evolving with two other skiers outside the marked slopes of the ski area.
The victim had been located and freed from the snow mass by his teammates who had called for help, according to the cantonal police. Helicoptered to the scene, the medical staff had tried to resuscitate the victim, in vain.
On Tuesday, the avalanche danger in the entire Valais Alps was still high (4 out of 5). “The situation remains tense and dangerous; be very careful,” the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (WSL) wrote on Twitter. But it went back to a degree 3 on Wednesday, as in the whole of the Swiss Alps, according to the Federal Natural Hazards Portal.
The avalanche dangers Wednesday 15.03.2023. [dangers-naturels.ch]
Many areas are experiencing a dangerous snowpack constitution across the canton, underlines the Valais police in its press release. The old snow, without precipitation for six weeks, offers fragile snow with a thickness of several tens of centimeters of “grains” without cohesion, she explains. This old snow is covered with a significant layer of fresh snow.
The police point out that degree 3 already describes a critical situation and that from this degree of danger, it is preferable to give up off-piste in unsecured terrain or without being accompanied by a professional if you do not benefit of the necessary experience. The danger is likely to last.
ats/oang
