French Alps avalanche kills skier as season toll climbs

2026-02-09 - 19:08

An avalanche killed a skier in the French Alps on Monday, a local prosecutor said, following the deaths of two off-piste tourers in a separate slide at the weekend. The man, in his early 30s, was the victim of a “very large avalanche” while skiing in an off-piste area near the village of Montgenevre, Gap prosecutor Marion Lozac’hmeur told AFP. Another skier with the victim was unharmed, she added. His death comes after an avalanche killed two off-piste ski tourers in the French Alps on Saturday, near Saint-Veran, known as the highest village in the French Alps. The two victims were part of a group of four unguided skiers when an avalanche swept down the north side of the Tete de Longet mountain peak. Avalanches have already claimed the lives of at least 20 skiers across the French, Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps so far this season.