It was 10h30 on Saturday morning when ski patrollers and the PGHM were alerted to an accident on the Rognon glacier. The rescue workers were on the scene immediately and found out what had happened from the two witnesses at the scene.
Thirty-nine year old mountain guide, Thierry Lokteff from Thorens-Glieres, working for Odyssée Montagne, was giving a beginner course on crevasse rescue when the accident happened. At only 200m from the slope, the guide and his two clients had found a place to give the lesson. The guide took off his skis and began to dig a hole to simulate a rescue when the snow bridge, that he happened to be standing on, broke.
Lokteff fell 20m into the crevasse and was killed by the fall. This season, 2008/2009, is the most deadly season in history for mountain guide professionals. Saturdays accident was the 9th death of a mountain professional in the French mountains this season.
