Avalanche tragedy at Val d'Isere on Feb 17, 2018 : Any more info

[dustyfog]

Father - daughter (11years old) died in an avalanche in Val d'Isere, on the Combe du Geant piste on the Pissaillas Glacier on the Eastern end of Val d'Isere. Anyone knows anymore? Please share.

The piste is a Red which 'sort of' tracks below the traverse to the shoulder skiers use to access the Col Pers off-piste terrain in a pretty spectacular loop. It's a bit scary, i.e. intimidating, as there are big slopes above the piste, the skier at points and in that terrain, there is always this sense of 'anything can happen', part of the adrenaline rush I daresay.

And the news accounts say the piste was closed, so how did they get on it, if it was closed, since to get up there, the Montet chair had to have been open ?? Was there a rope across or just a sign saying 'Arrete -Ferme' ?? Am curious as to how this could have happened, it's bloody seriously tragic.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20180219/father-and-daughter-11-killed-by-french-alps-avalanche

This site run by a local long-time guide and great info on L'Espace Killy, (with some solid real-life experiences shared by this lifelong pro), has more details that I found, unreal, Mom got out of the way, dad did his best to shield his kid, it appears. This is unbelievably sad.
https://www.valdinet.com/snow/flat-light-skiing-in-val-d-isere-val-d-isere-valley-714706
Key lessons from this:
1. Never ski a closed run, piste, back-country gate, off-piste, ski route
2. Always have your 'avalanche transceiver ON' in places like L'Espace Killy or anywhere there is clear or vague avalanche danger.

 

[Jacob]

If you check the piste map here (https://www.valdisere.com/plandespistes/en/), you can see where the Combe du Geant piste is (top-left of the map). That's a marked piste that would normally be groomed and avi controlled. But, it sits in the lower section of a bowl, with peaks all along the right side. So if the snow in the upper part of the bowl was very unstable, then they'd rope off the piste.

However, when they rope off a piste, the ropes aren't particularly difficult to bypass. They're easily visible, but you can get under them without much problem. My bet is that the pair decided to duck the ropes to ski on some fresh snow, thinking that would be safer than going into what is normally considered off-piste terrain.

If they were looking for soft snow, it would've been safer for them to ski the terrain directly under the Cascade lift. It's technically off piste, but it's less avalanche-prone than the bowl above Combe du Geant.

 

[fatbob]

People duck ropes and ski closed runs all the time in France. I've done it because it is sometimes essential to get to good off piste but too often it is essentially piste skiers assuming it will still be safe e.g. I see it a lot in spring when there are manifestly large wet peels coming off a sun exposed aspect people will merrily skip round a closed sign to ski the cat track below.

 

[Primoz]

Yeah over here we have a bit different attitude to rules I admit I did exactly same as @fatbob and not once, but more or less regularly. Ducking ropes and skiing closed runs is pretty much normal thing in Europe. Unless run is closed because they have snowcats on slope preparing run (and therefore bunch of cables and winches), rope is more or less sort of warning that it's not really safe over there, and that you are on your own.
But bigger problem then ducking rope is who does that and how prepared people are for being on the other side. Ski places in Europe are different then in USA. Over here, ski place are lifts and ski runs only. Anything between or out of ski run is not ski area anymore. So you as skier are solely responsible from second you step out of the course. But people mostly forget this and they head out as it's just normal slope. No avi gear, no experiences, no weather/avi conditions check, and then bad things do happen.

 

[fatbob]

But people mostly forget this and they head out as it's just normal slope. No avi gear, no experiences, no weather/avi conditions check, and then bad things do happen.

Yep - more specifically in the circumstances where it is usually a groomed slope and on the piste map they seem to assume that means it is always safe and the ropes are just there because it hasn't been groomed yet/to spoil their fun