Saturday 28 January 2017, a Russian skier (30) has fallen in a crevasse, while skiing the Vallee Blanche, after he departed from Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) in the Mont-Blanc massif.
According to Libération.fr, a Russian man (30) and his father (60) departed together from the summit of the Aiguille du Midi to ski the Vallée Blanche in the morning of Saturday 28 January.
It is not exactly clear when or where but the son fell into a crevasse.
We understand that at the time of the fall he was not wearing his skis and that he had intentionally removed them. Immediately his father tried to call for help but was unable to get a network connection on his phone. He continued down the Vallée Blanche until he too fell into a crevasse, about 500 meters below his son.
So now both father and son have fallen into separate crevasses and no-one knows!
It is not exactly clear where these crevasse are located. Radio Mont Blanc reports that they are on Glacier du Géant. Le Libération reports that they are on the Mer de Glace. But they also report that the Mer de Glace is at 3,000 meters!
At 8:30 am on the following morning Sunday 29 January 2017 a friend of the skiers was concerned that they had not returned. He called the Chamonix PGHM and immediately they dispatched a helicopter to search the Valley Blanche for the two missing men. This was not successful as both men were at the bottom of crevasses.
A second operation commenced with 14 gendarmes on skis. After many hours searching, they finally found the son, 30 meters down a crevasse. He was declared dead at the scene of the accident. The PGHM performed the extraction of his body from the crevasse.
According to Captain Patrice Ribes to Agence France-Presse "At the time the accident occurred, he was on foot. We do not know yet why he took off his skis".
According to Libération.fr, at the end of the day, the Chamonix PGHM found the father. He was alive, suffering from chock, but otherwise unscathed!
Captain Patrice Ribes said that, "After the father saw his son fall into the crevasse, he marked the point of entry with a ski and went in search of a mobile phone signal, when he too fell into a crevasse.
Captain Patrice Ribes, points out that both skiers were, "particularly inexperienced".
An investigation has been opened by the prosecutor of Bonneville (Haute-Savoie) to determine the circumstances of the accident.
This is the first fatality of the season in the Vallée Blanche.
The Vallée Blanche route is known for its huge crevasses and avalanche risk. This is a route for expert skiers.
