Thursday May 4th, Fatal fall on the Aiguille Verte in the Mont-Blanc Massif
The frightening Couturier couloir is the one behind the rocky triangle supporting the Cordier couloir. A route among the steepest in the Alps. Archive Photo Le DL /Antoine CHANDELLIER
A skier from the Hautes-Alpes lost his life on Thursday, May 4, while trying to ski down the vertiginous Couturier couloir, which shears the north-east face of the Aiguille Verte (4,122 m) over a 1,400-meter drop. Accompanied by a friend, he set off with the latter on the descent of this route, which is among the steepest in the Alps. At about 1:30 pm, he lost control of his edges, leading to a 500-meter long slide.
Alerted, the rescuers of the Peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne (PGHM) of Chamonix went on the spot with the help of the helicopters of the civil security and the Gendarmerie. They tried to treat the poly-traumatized skier, but he was declared dead during his evacuation to the Annecy hospital.
An hour earlier, the mountain rescue unit had also intervened for a skier, unbalanced by an avalanche between the Col du Plan and the Rognon du Plan. He had fallen heavily on the Vallée Blanche side before falling into a crevasse. Seriously injured, the 52 year old man suffered multiple fractures. He was taken to Annecy hospital where his condition was stabilized.
