GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The bodies of three men and three women were flown out of the Plate des Agneaux area, in the Ecrins chain in France following one of the worst mountaineering accidents in the French Alps in recent history. The three were on a climb not noted for its difficulty, on a beautiful day, when the two groups of three people roped together ran into problems on the stretch that is reportedly the most difficult technical part of the climb.
The group was climbing to the Ecrins hut, but their bodies were spotted Sunday by a British hiker.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – This is it folks: snow is coming down, even on the edge of Lake Geneva, which means you can count on it in the Swiss and French Alps. Head outdoors this weekend and remind yourself why you are in Switzerland. Snow on the slopes is still thin except at high altitudes, but snow canons are now in use in most resorts, so the slopes are open.
Weather forecast
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - An 18-year-old Spanish youth who went missing Sunday afternoon in heavy fog while snowboarding in the French Alps has been found alive. The young man was near the resort of Deux-Alpes (map), at an altitude of 3,200 metres, when he became lost in bad weather, which then prevented search parties from finding him. His life is not in danger, say French authorities, although he was suffering from hypothermia and appeared to have given up on being found when skies cleared long enough for a helicopter patrol to find him at 1,275 metres, only 500 metres from the road, as the crow flies.
Rescuers are calling it a miracle, that he managed to get down some 2,000 metres of untraced mountain without any avalanches or cliffs.
Links to other sites: TF1 (Fre), 20 Minutes (Fre)
"My idea of skiing," by celestialpilgrim on flickr
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The cold and snow continue, for better and for worse. Worse = being stuck in damp cold fog and better means reaching the sunshine, easy to find in the mountains where the cold is keeping the snow base good and deep.
Photo: celestialpilgrim’s image from a Val de Ferret, Valais ski touring trip can be seen in its original large size on flickr. His ski touring companion JC has posted a set of photos, Tête de Ferret par la Dotze on flickr from the weekend outing.
Cold is a relative term, of course, and Thursday the temperature on the plains rose above freezing for the first time in 13 days.
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Safely bike with a guide on mountain trails in the Swiss and French Alps with Ride the Alps. Bike rides from May to September or so, depending on snow condition, winter guided walks possible by appointments.
