Brits have lucky escape in Verbier Avalanche

Two, possibly three, skiers rescued from an avalanche in the Col des Mines, Verbier yesterday morning.

Report (French) from Rhone FM

"An Avalanche took two skiers on Sunday morning at 10am in the Col des Mines in Verbier. A slab measuring 200 meters by 600 meters long was triggered at an altitude of 2,600 meters by 3 skiers, two Britons aged 24 and 22 years, and a young woman skiing off piste. Located and removed by FXB House Rescue, the first skier of 24 years was transported by helicopter in a state of mild hypothermia to Sion hospital for a checkup. His companion (22-years) was unharmed. None of the three people was equipped with a transceiver according to the cantonal police."

W.r.t. the last sentence. FFS. With the amount of recent snow... :twisted: Lucky (very) to be alive, so let's hope they learnt some lessons.

We heard this avalanche when skiing yesterday and saw helicopters flying. I agree - what on Earth were they thinking, but in terms of being there when they were, not in terms of having or not the equipment. Equipment is by and large for searching for the bodies, hoping that someone will be found alive, good judgement is for avoiding becoming one. Emphasis on equipment is dangerous as it may mislead people to believe it somehow affect their chances of being buried by a slide. Chance of survival is quite small and will largely depend on luck (size and depth of avalanche, location etc.), equipment only marginally increase this nonetheless marginal chance. These guys were buried because they didn't follow the warning signs not because they didn't have the equipment and got away easily because they were lucky. Had they had the equipment the outcome would have likely been the same. Also, there could be a confusion since Col des Mines is not an official 'off-piste', but a marked itinerary. Most of the time people ski it without avy kit. But still all itineraries are closed at the moment and slab accumulations have been reported at certain aspects and altitude - which has to be respected regardless of the equipment.

Ok, for those of us who are venturing into off piste land, I'm going to start a new and serious thread which I'd really welcome advice from all on please.

Spot on Verbier Ski Bum. Knowledge and common sense required first and foremost.

verbier_ski_bum wrote:what on Earth were they thinking, but in terms of being there when they were

Absolutely agree; the emphasis should certainly be on not being there in the first place. But judgement calls can be wrong (and often are, as evidenced by the regularity with which experienced guides and guide-led groups get avalanched).

Also worth remembering that even if you take a safer route, you can still get some fool above you that skis the slope you backed out of.

The kit is essential - if only to limit the time exposed to danger of the brave souls who come to dig out your body. It might help them find you early enough too.

I find it acts as a reminder of the dangers, and TBH have yet to ski with anyone who thought they could take extra risks when wearing a bleeper (and wouldn't ski with them if that were the case!).

verbier_ski_bum wrote:Had they had the equipment the outcome would have likely been the same.

Often the case, but not always. It does seem likely that the poor girl who died after the Tignes avalanche last week would have been found more quickly had she been wearing a transceiver.

And the final point (maybe even the most important) is that if you've got the kit then you can go to the help of others. One particular report from last winter has stuck in my mind; of a group who came across fresh avalanche debris and noticed tracks going under it. One of them switched to search on the off-chance... and they found and dug out (alive) two skiers.

Backing out (when in doubt) saves many, many lives every winter, but bleepers can and do save a few too.

Can you back out of Col de Mines? From skiing it last Jan, from what remember you we're committed once you started he traverse.
To ski it in those conditions I'd consider too risky.

andyhull wrote:Can you back out of Col de Mines? From skiing it last Jan, from what remember you we're committed once you started he traverse.

Think you're right. If I remember correctly (it's been a while so I might be thinking of somewhere else entirely), the traverse in can be pretty sketchy and laden with new snow is probably one of the likely places for an avalanche to start. Not a good route in the circs.

andyhull wrote:Can you back out of Col de Mines? From skiing it last Jan, from what remember you we're committed once you started he traverse.
To ski it in those conditions I'd consider too risky.

No, you can't back out of any Verbier itineraries. Once you are on it you have to ski down.