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five soldiers killed in avalanche Valfrejus

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
more sad news.

http://www.thelocal.fr/20160118/three-soldiers-die-in-french-alps-avalanche


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 18-01-16 15:35; edited 1 time in total
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http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2016/01/18/une-avalanche-en-secteur-hors-piste-une-quarantaine-de-militaires-s-entrainait-dans-le-secteur
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Ugh that's horrible Sad
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Oh crap ... possibly just as bad as the kids incident when it comes to people not making informed decisions/decisions for themselves
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We were there two weeks ago just as the snow arrived. I have been keeping an eye on the weather there and it doesn't seem to have stopped since.....
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@Dave of the Marmottes, I'm not sure I understand what you mean?
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@under a new name, that they probably didn't have a choice about what they were doing or where they were?
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Been skiing today in serre chevalier.British army skiers and disabled army skiers everywhere.I felt very proud as they all seemed true professionals in every sense.Spoke to one of the instructors who was organising slalom for disabled.
Then I heard here about Val Frejus...probably new recruits being toughened up.Seen it often enough in Les Arcs recruits hardly out of school on white coloured straight planks, being forced to walk up the mountain as lifts out of bounds.
Whatever the circumstances,very sad.
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Sad and unfortunate. Given that they were French army I'd imagine the exercise would be fairly well planned and controlled. Soldiers aren't usually given many choices as to where and what they're doing are they?
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That's terrible news, my condolences to the legionnaires and their families.

It's been a dreadful season for Valfrejus, the resort opening date was put back several times and is still not fully open - it looks like only 1 piste is open from Punta Bagna, which has cut down a significant portion of the available runs.

The pas du roc lift where this Avalanche is reported to have occurred is one of my favourite places I've ever skied, with two parallel challenging red runs, a long swooping blue and gorgeous scenery looking over towards Italy.

We're due there again on the 13th Feb, glad to be able to support the resort with our custom, but I fear it may be tough for Valfrejus to survive this season. We did consider buying a little apartment in the town, but were worried about the future existence of the resort, even though it's a beautiful place with utterly charming inhabitants.
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I suspect @Dave of the Marmottes, means they were probably ordered to go where they went by someone who should have been well enough informed/experienced to known better. The comparison being between teacher and officer.

Tragic but, once again, until we know details it can only be speculation.
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This........
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I wonder if we will know how that went down - military secrets and all that... terrible news - so sad, and likely unnecessary
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Again terrible news condolences to their families friends and fellow recruits.

Does anyone know the nationality of the soldiers as FFL they may well not have been French nationals.
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 Poster: A snowHead
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@M535man, sorry i don't know the resort, why is it's existence at risk?
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@davidof, Sad Sad Sad
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@davidof, I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking at. Can you clarify please?
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@RichClark, looks like a pile of abandoned equipment to me. Possibly belonging to soldiers rescuing their comrades? or removed from victims.
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Thanks @Hells Bells, that's what I had assumed, but was't sure if it was the debris or dumped in order to search.

I'm not sure it matters, but i was curious. Very sad either way.
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Extremely sad day, condolences to everyone involved & I feel for the guys who have to attempt the rescue, these people are incredible, serious respect & thanks from me Sad
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From this morning's paper it seems 50 of them were climbing, one behind the other, not spaced out. Also a number injured, of which one was giving cause for concern last night. The slide was 400m wide. Likely to be a major enquiry, I imagine.
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pam w wrote:
From this morning's paper it seems 50 of them were climbing, one behind the other, not spaced out. Also a number injured, of which one was giving cause for concern last night. The slide was 400m wide. Likely to be a major enquiry, I imagine.


French army, more likely to be covered up Pam.

Already it is interesting to see the media treatment compared to the LDA avalanche. The conditions were described as "le risque d’avalanche n’était établi qu’au niveau 3", and for les Deux Alps "le risque d'avalanche était à 3, c'est à dire marqué". For those who don't read French the army slide "was only risk 3", whereas for LDA "it was considerable". Indeed the press were initially claiming it was risk 4 for the LDA slide and I saw this repeated today.

In the Figaro

"Skieurs aguerris, rattachés à la Brigade alpine, ces militaires ont l'habitude d'intervenir en montagne, et tous ont des brevets d'alpinistes et de skieurs militaires."

"Hardened skiers, attached to the Mountain Division, these soldiers are used to working in the mountains and all have the military ski and alpine qualifications".

But what we find out from this pisteur, who was at the scene (and what he has said has been, at least partially confirmed by others) they were new recruits (that is what I saw on the TV, young people in a state of shock - not hardened mountain troops as was claimed by the media), some had only 3, days skiing and didn't know how to use an avalanche beacon. None had read the avalanche bulletin (again the army was putting out they'd been on an intensive ski course and were comfortable on red runs and all had been trained on avalanche rescue - not what the pisteur saw). He says it was "suicidal".

http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2016/01/19/avalanche-de-valfrejus-un-pisteur-secouriste-de-la-station-temoigne

As for nationalities: An Italian, someone from the Maghreb, an Albanian, a Modavian and a Nepalese.
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Bloody hell, what a chilling interview. Skullie
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Shame on them.

Too many idiots working for the government.

and I say, leave the teacher alone from LDA, and focus on the idiot that came up with this plan. Suicidal is an understatement if what the pisteur says is true
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The French army is still in the epoch of mud runs in full combat gear. The "you walk or you die" attitude. As was shown by the death of two officers on the Restefond in 2004 and of course, the 9 soldiers who were hit by an avalanche at Valloire in 2012 from the same regiment as this week.

http://www.liberation.fr/france-archive/2007/11/21/dans-le-froid-du-col-de-restefond-c-etait-creuse-ou-creve_106742

I suppose it is Darwinian.
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In many ways, and particularly in terms of the blame game, this ought to be a bigger story than les 2alpes
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Yes, it should. The report I read had several references to the young age of the survivors and their extreme state of shock.
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