Family of 4 buried in Verbier Avalanche

Thursday, 29 December 2011

News just in is that a family of 4 were buried on 26 Dec while skiing in Verbier. The family of 2 adults and two children (16 and 13) were skiing off-piste in the Lac des Vaux/Mt Gelee area when the avalanche released and buried them.

Two helicopters, Mountain Guides, pisteurs and three dog handlers were involved in the search for the family which lasted two hours. The family were not carrying any avalanche safety equipment. The South facing slope was warming rapidly in the mid-day sun, and the Avalanche Risk was at "Considerable" (3/5).

Fortunately all of the family were found alive. The children were only slightly injured and received medical checks in Sion hospital. The head of slope security in Verbier stated that the rescue efforts had cost 50,000CHF.