A cautionary tale from the Grand Couloir

Was witness to a nasty looking fall yesterday that really looked like there wasn't going to be a happy outcome.

With a group of half a dozen in the Grand Couloir in Les Deux Alpes, in the steepest section that passes under the chair; steep and narrow but the snow was nice and grippy and not too bumped-up. Three of us had finished our runs and were near the bottom; I'd gone high to the left of the exit, G was pausing for breath slightly higher but still in the gully, and A was at the bottom of the gully just before where it switches left into a much gentler path down to the chair.

I was looking up the couloir for the rest of the group when there was an explosion of snow right at the top, out of which emerged a body and various debris including skis heading in different directions. Already travelling fast, the skier was on his back accelerating down the gully head-first.

I shouted to G to move and watched as the faller hurtled past, bouncing from bump to bump. Horrible.

G realised the faller was heading straight for A who was looking the other way, but shouted too late and the faller smacked into A throwing him out of his skis and into the air. The faller careered on and disappeared from view as he fell over the edge of the run at the corner.

After a moment of shock G and I shot down to A, collecting glasses and a pole or two as we went. Breathed a sigh of relief as A was quickly on his feet but somewhat stunned - rear bindings on both skis had been ripped out of the skis by the impact! Peered over the edge and, to some surprise and huge relief, saw the faller struggling to his feet about 50 feet below in deep snow that had arrested his fall.

So, two totalled skis and a free ski-doo ride for A courtesy of the lifties. The faller, a big French chap, had fallen the entire length of the couloir, and walked away. Let's not try that again.

Lessons for the day?

1. Don't linger in couloirs / gullies - you never know what (or who) is coming down next.
2. Don't stop in the fall line!

Stay safe out there folks,

you're all mad !!.

.My friend mike did the grand coulouir in Courcheval last week


By n3dsd, shot with EX-Z1050 at 2009-03-15

It would seem a shame that using a self arrest technique was not on the French guys' mind before he totalled your mates skis :shock:

Who is picking up the bill?

les deux alpes couloir is much steeper daved!

EVEN MADDER :mrgreen:

Glad to hear everyone is ok. I trust A got the Frenchmans details and will be filing a claim for new skis against him? Did you find out what caused him to fall? Was he out of his depth or just a genuine mistake?

But Grand Couloir is the easy couloir off the top of saulire. Daved, your friend should go down Death Couloir on the Meribel side!!!!

Skis were hired. I assume A had taken the hire shops insurance but Intersport replaced them as soon as A was back to the resort and he was skiing again that afternoon.

No details exchanged as all involved were very relieved that both A and the faller walked away (after some considerable time regaining composure). TBH we could have been looking at two very serious injuries; not nice seeing the guy slide but watching him disappear off the edge of the piste... :(

No idea what launched it but it's not a forgiving place to make any mistake, and I doubt I could have self-arrested on the same slope.

Down to a skiing incident, the French guy fell on one of the trickiest slopes in the resort but A was waiting in an un-wise location so not fair or appropriate to go blaming either I don't think. We've all had falls and mostly we get away with it - thankfully, everyone did this time too.