22
Further avalanche deaths in the Alps
Monday February 22, 2010 - Email this article to a friend
3 people died in Italy and a further 2 in Switzerland. It follows recent snowfall. The warning level is considerable in many places. One person died while with a mountain guide.
In Italy a man form the Czech republic died while he was heli-skiing with a mountain guide near the Aosta Valley. It is yet another fatal incident involving a mountain guide this winter.
There have been several this season where the professional is caught.
We have reported on it so take a look for further details of the incidents.
The PlanetSKI off piste safety expert and mountain guide, Nick Parks, recently commentated on the seemingly higher number of incidents involving guides and off piste ski instructors.
"My instinct tells me that its snow conditions and bad luck. But as with most accidents you can't blame one thing: it's a combination of lots of factors. And yes perhaps better equipment is a factor in making everyone, not just pros, take greater risks," he says. "Personally I always stress with clients that having avalanche rescue kit and knowing how to use it is all very good, indeed essential but it is rescue kit therefore if you have to use it its probably because you mucked up. The emphasis in avalanche courses has to be on not getting caught in the first place."
As the trend in skiing and snowboarding goes more and more to off piste so the pressure on pros to take their clients off piste grows. Especially the search for fresh powder which of course is the most unstable.
"30 years ago (aah, when I was a lad!) and I started off piste I remember we used to say wait 3 days after a storm for conditions to settle down, sadly there are no fresh tracks to be had 3 hours, let alone 3 days, after a snow fall these days," Parks adds.
He runs the specialist adventure holiday company, Mountain Tracks.
Meanwhile in Switzerland 2 German men who were ski touring at the weekend in the canton of Graubuenden were killed according to local police.
They were part of a group of 9.
See our special Olympic Section on PlanetSKI; as well as the latest news it is has some in-depth features and a few stories that you wont see elsewhere.
Bookmark this page
Related Articles
First back flip on sit ski (Saturday February 11, 2012)Eddie Murphy not dead in snowboarding accident (Friday February 10, 2012)
Skiing at half-term (Thursday February 9, 2012)
Snowboarders injured more than skiers (Monday February 6, 2012)
Husband digs wife out of avalanche (Friday February 3, 2012)
Boy dangles from chairlift (Thursday February 2, 2012)
