Category: avalanche

Husband of 2-Time Olympic Champion Justyna Kowalczyk Killed in Avalanche

WARSAW, Poland—The husband of two-time Olympic champion Justyna Kowalczyk was killed Thursday in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, the Polish Mountaineering Support Foundation said. Sports climber Kacper Tekieli, who was 38, last posted on Facebook on Tuesday from Konkordia Hut in Fiescherthal, Switzerland. “He was most wonderful,” a post on Kowalczyk’s official Facebook page…


Denali National Park Worker Dies After Triggering Avalanche

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska—A Denali National Park and Preserve employee died when he was caught in an avalanche while skiing in the backcountry, not far from the park’s entrance, officials said Friday. Eric Walter, who provided radio-based safety support and dispatch services for National Park Service operations across Alaska, died in the Thursday…


Avalanche Kills 6, Including Mountain Guides, in French Alps

PARIS—The death toll from Sunday’s avalanche in the French Alps rose to six, including two mountain guides, local authorities said Monday. The prosecutor’s office in Bonneville, in the Haute-Savoie region, said the body of a sixth person was found after searches resumed on Monday morning. The prefecture of Haute-Savoie said one person was sent to…


Avalanche in French Alps Kills at Least 4 People

PARIS—An avalanche in the French Alps killed four people Sunday, France’s interior minister said, calling the death toll a provisional count. The avalanche rolled down the Armancette glacier in Contamines-Montjoie, in the Haute-Savoie region, some 30 kilometers (almost 20 miles) southwest of Chamonix. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin provided no details in his tweet about the…


Avalanche Sweeps Away Tourists in Northeast India; 7 Killed

NEW DELHI—An avalanche swept away a group of tourists in the Himalayas in northeastern India on Tuesday, killing at least seven and injuring 11, officials said. Army spokesperson Lt. Col Mahendra Rawat said rescuers pulled out at least 23 tourists from the snow and took them to a hospital for treatment. Soldiers clear snow from…


Norwegian Arctic Area to Be Evacuated Due Deadly Avalanches

HELSINKI—Norwegian authorities said Saturday they would evacuate an area in northern Norway where avalanches and landslides have killed four people, including tourists from Slovenia and Italy. Norwegian police tweeted that the decision was based on a recommendation from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and would affect several parts of the Arctic municipality of Tromsoe. Four people…


Norwegian Arctic Area to Be Evacuated Due to Deadly Avalanches

HELSINKI—Norwegian authorities said Saturday they would evacuate an area in northern Norway where avalanches and landslides have killed four people, including tourists from Slovenia and Italy. Norwegian police wrote on Twitter that the decision was based on a recommendation from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and would affect several parts of the Arctic municipality of Tromsoe….


Avalanche: 2nd Body Found of Swedish Skiers Near Mont Blanc

ROME—Rescue crews recovered a second body Monday in a search for two Swedish skiers who were caught in an avalanche near Mont Blanc on Italy’s northern border with France, authorities said. Two people who were part of the group of four off-piste skiers survived Sunday’s avalanche in the Val Veny, above Courmayeur, and had sounded…


South BC Highway Passes See More Snow, Avalanche Canada Urges Caution as Storm Hits

The first day of spring is exactly one week away, but extreme winter conditions still persist on British Columbia’s southern and southeastern mountain passes as snowfall warnings are posted for most routes. Environment Canada says anywhere from 15 to 25 centimetres is expected at higher elevations of the passes north and east of Hope by…


Avalanche Canada Releases Details on BC Avalanche That Killed Three Germans

INVERMERE, B.C.—Avalanche Canada has released more details about the deadly avalanche that killed three German citizens in southeastern British Columbia last week. It says in an incident report that nine heli−skiers and one guide were about 30 km southwest of Invermere, B.C., in the Coppercrown Mountain region on a run called “Too bad about the…