Ski tourer survives more than 24 hours in a crevasse after an avalanche in the Alps: he was alone and had no transceiver

A 39-year-old ski tourer from the Grenoble area has survived more than 24 hours at the bottom of a crevasse after being swept away by an avalanche in the French Alps. He was rescued alive on Monday 9 November.

What happened

• Saturday: he set off alone on a two-day tour and spent the night in a hut.
• Sunday morning: he triggered an avalanche in the Vallon d’Ambin, in the Mont Cenis massif (Maurienne, Savoie). It carried him into a crevasse.
• Sunday night: his family raised the alarm. A search began but was suspended overnight.
• Monday: rescuers found him in the afternoon and lifted him out at around 14:30.

With broken legs, he crawled about 100 metres inside the crevasse until he found an air pocket under the snow and ice. That’s how he held on. Reports differ on the exact time: some say more than 24 hours, others up to 36.

Five hours of probing

The rescue involved 22 CRS Alpes officers, 6 high-mountain gendarmes (PGHM Savoie), an emergency doctor, 2 dogs and 3 helicopters. They spent five hours probing and digging, at risk of a second avalanche. In the end they heard him shouting under the snow. He was hauled out with ropes and a pulley stretcher and flown to Grenoble University Hospital. He has a broken femur, tibia and fibula and hypothermia.

The lesson: transceiver, shovel and probe

The skier wasn’t carrying an avalanche transceiver or any way to call for help. Rescuers stress that anyone going off-piste should always carry a transceiver, shovel and probe. With a transceiver, he would have been found much sooner. Going with a partner and leaving your route with someone can also save your life.

If you head into the mountains, read up on what to do if you get lost.