An avalanche rescue dog and a rescuer take part in a search and rescue drill at the La Rosière ski resort in Savoie on February 4, 2025. OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP
In the video, the skiing scene seems almost ordinary, until the mountain suddenly gives way. Ares Masip, a Spanish woman skiing off-piste in Andorra, falls. A second later, the snow collapses beneath her skis. Swept away for several dozen meters, she calls to her dog as her camera keeps recording. The avalanche finally stops. On January 8, the skier, who survived, posted the footage on social media with the message: “Never let your guard down” in the mountains.
Not everyone is as fortunate. In recent weeks, there has been a succession of deadly avalanches. A skier died on Friday, January 23, near Cime de Sambuis in the Saint-Colomban-des-Villards resort. Two Moroccan tourists and their guide perished on Thursday, January 22, on Mount Toubkal in Morocco. On Monday, January 19, an off-piste skier was killed in an avalanche at Val-d’Isère in the French Alps. Over the weekend of January 10 and 11, six people had already lost their lives between Savoie and Haute-Savoie in the French Alps. Since Christmas, there have been 12 victims in France. In Austria, seven skiers and hikers also lost their lives in two weeks.
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