More Avalanches in the Alps with ‘High’ Risk in Places
11th January 2026
Last modified on January 14th, 2026
There have been further avalanches with one sweeping over a blue piste in St Foy and hitting four people. A British skier was among six people who died last weekend in the French Alps. UPDATED
A large avalanche was triggered by an off-piste skier on Tuesday lunchtime in the resort of Sainte Foy that is near Tignes and Val d’Isere.
The avalanche swept over a blue piste and hit four skiers.
100 people were involved in the search operation.
All were rescued with one taken to hospital.
Their life is not in danger.
The first three people were knocked down and partially buried by the avalanche.
The fourth skier was found in shock but unharmed about 50m below the piste with his hand protruding from the avalanche debris.
All four people involved were on holiday in the resort.
The skier who triggered the avalanche is a local and he came forward to the ski patrol at the end of the day.
The avalanche was 200m long, 80m wide and left 8m of debris on the piste.
The avalanche risk was at 4 out of 5 (high) on Tuesday in the Maurienne, Vanoise, Haute-Maurienne, and Haute-Tarentaise valleys in France.
There were further avalanches in the French Alps on Tuesday.
In Courchevel a season worker was caught in the slide. She lost her skis but survived.
The avalanche risk at the time was at Level 4 (high).
In Val d’Isere a person was caught in an avalanche shortly before 10.30.
They too survived.
There was another avalanche in the Pointe de la Mandallaz area of the Aravis mountain range.
A 22-year-old skier was swept away for several meters.
When rescuers arrived, only the victim’s head was visible above the avalanche debris.
He was part of a group of four skiers. and was taken to hospital in Annecy
On Monday a skier was caught in a slide in Tignes.
The person was dug out by the ski patrol and taken by helicopter to Chambery hospital.
The condition of the victim and other details have not been released.
In Switzerland an Olympic snowboarder has died in an avalanche.
Ueli Kestenholz, who won a bronze medal in the sport’s first Olympic race, died after being trapped in an avalanche, the Swiss ski federation said Tuesday.
He was 50.
Kestenholz was third in snowboard giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
Last weekend was grim with six deaths in the French Alps.It followed heavy snowfall with the authorities advising extreme caution for those venturing off piste.
The British fatality on Sunday in La Plagne was man in his 50s who was caught in an avalanche while skiing away the marked runs in a group.
More than 50 rescuers searched for him and found the man buried under 2.5m of snow after nearly an hour of searching.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The authorities say he was not wearing an avalanche transceiveics
Elsewhere on Sunday a skier died in an avalanche in Courchevel in Les3Vallees.
There was also an avalanche in Orelle in Les3Vallees on Sunday and a victim was taken to the hospital of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
The person’s condition has not been released and it is understood the victim was not wearing a transceiver.
In Vallorcine near Chamonix a 32-year-old ski paroller skier died after being caught in an avalanche.
He worked in the Flégère ski area and was thrown into a tree and died from his injuries.
He was a father of young children.
The Savoie region in France was hit hardest, with at least thirteen avalanches reported on Sunday alone.
Rescue teams were stretched thin throughout the weekend across the Vanoise, Haute-Maurienne, and Mont-Blanc massifs.
On Saturday three skiers died in two separate avalanches in the French Alps.
In Val d’Isere two French off-piste skiers died after being buried by an avalanche in the Lost Valley in the Bellevarde area of the ski area.
They were buried under 2.5m of snow and were not wearing transceivers.
In another incident on Saturday in the Areches-Beaufort resort two off piste skiers were caught in an avalanche.
One died at the scene and the other is in hospital with serious head injuries.
We reported on the tragedies on Saturday:
On Sunday there were numerous other avalanches, including one in Tignes.
It happened in an off-piste sector in the Palafour area.
One person was buried and the victim, who was conscious, was rescued by the ski patrol.
The person was not wearing an avalanche transceiver.
In Arc 1950 an avalanche came across a road and no vehicles were hit.
The road, the RD119, had been closed.
It follows the heavy snow over the past few days that we have been reporting on PlanetSKI:
Most accidents involved off-piste skiers.
Under the current snow conditions, the weight of a single person is enough to trigger massive slab avalanches.
Significant fresh snowfall has fallen on top of an old, fragile, and loose layer of snow.
There has been ‘considerable’ or ‘high’ avalanche risk across may parts of the northern French Alps and Switzerland.
Here was Sunday’s avalanche forecast in Switzerland:
Avalanche danger in Switzerland, Sunday 11h January. Image c/o Swiss Avalanche Institute.
The risk has reduced for Monday, but it is still at Level 3 – ‘considerable’.
Avalanche danger in Switzerland, Monday 12th January. Image c/o Swiss Avalanche Institute.
More people die in avalanches when the risk is at Level 3, than any other level.
“Fresh snow and large quantities of wind-drifted snow of the last four days are poorly bonded with the old snowpack,” said a statement for the Swiss Institute for Snow & Avalanche Research.
“Avalanches can in many places be released, even by a single winter sport participant and reach large size in isolated cases.
“Whumpfing sounds and the formation of shooting cracks when stepping on the snowpack can indicate the danger.
“Backcountry touring and other off-piste activities call for experience in the assessment of avalanche danger and caution.”
The new snow has fallen on an unstable base and high winds have moved much snow creating danger spots.
The authorities have re-iterated for extreme caution as the snow pack is highly dangerous.
For those skiers and snowboarders staying on the marked runs the conditions are now excellent after the heavy snow and the passing of the storm.
Here at PlanetSKI we will be updating this article as we receive further details.
We urge everyone out skiing to obey all the rules and advice, and if skiing off piste take all the correct safety equipment and know how to use it.
Stay off any slope that is 30 degrees steep, or threatened by a slope that is 30 degrees.
Ideally hire a trained guide who will find the best snow in the safest conditions possible.
PlanetSKI: Number 1 for digital ski news
Your digital platform for ski news, resort information, travel, equipment rental, sport, money saving deals and everything connected with snowsports – web site, social media & more.
