Skiers capture video of avalanche plunging down French Alps
The French Alps are part of the Alps Mountain range that is found in France. The terrain is part of the most famous mountain range on the continent and stretches from Monaco through Slovenia. According to European Avalanche Warning Services, avalanches claim around 100 lives every year.
Caught on video: Avalanche in the French Alps
A group of skiers in the French Alps caught video of an avalanche speeding down a mountainside.
CHAMONIX-MONT-BLANC, France – A group of skiers on the French Alps say they are lucky to be alive after an avalanche quickly formed along a mountain summit, and the entire incident was captured on video.
Gabriel Mazur, a local mountain guide, posted the video on social media of the event that his group captured from two different angles.
The massive pile of snow appeared to swallow everything in its trek, but, fortunately, it ran out of momentum before reaching the skiers.
"It covered the tracks we put in two hours prior to the avalanche….Fortunately, nobody was there," Mazur told Storyful, a media gathering agency.
Mazur said it would have been a deadly situation if anyone found themselves near the avalanche.
Avalanche in the French Alps
(Gabriel Mazur, IFMGA guide/justonestep.eu/@just_one_step_guiding /TMX / FOX Weather)
DANGERS OF AVALANCHES, AND HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE SLOPES
According to local organizations, the danger of avalanches was about 4 out of 5 at high-altitude resorts. Increased dangers existed on north-facing slopes that are subject to more volatile weather conditions.
Snowslides are relatively common on the Alps, and the European Avalanche Warning Services reports 100 people are killed each year by avalanches on the continent.
While no one was reported to have been killed during the most recent avalanche, events in the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc region have been deadly during the 2023-24 winter ski season, according to the agency.
So far this season, at least ten people have been killed in France and 29 others across the continent during avalanche events.
Satellite image of part of the European continent
(NASA)
ALASKA BACKCOUNTRY SKIER KILLED, 2 INJURED IN AVALANCHE AMID HIGH WINDS, WARM TEMPERATURES
In the U.S., 27 people die each year due to these events, with Colorado often leading the pack for incidents.
According to the National Weather Service, significant temperature swings or strong wind events can make the snowpack unstable and lead to avalanches, but it is often human activities that produce slides.
Some 90% of events that result in injuries or deaths are triggered by the victim or someone in the party, according to forecasters.