Andreas Fransson, JP Auclair & Liz Daly Killed in 2 Separate Avalanches

Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair have been reported dead following an avalanche in the Aysen region of Chile. The two men were part of a team that were shooting footage for a movie project. They were climbing Mount San Lorenzo on the Chilean/Argentine border when a 700 metre avalanche swept down the mountain - the incident was reported to police in the nearest city of Cochrane sometime on Monday afternoon (Chilean time) with a search and rescue team being deployed straight away.

Early reports from Biobiochile.cl (see website) stated that two people were missing, one Canadian and one Swedish. JP Auclair was the only Canadian in the group but the other 3 members are all Swedish, meaning that tense hours followed as friends and family waited for confirmation of who was accounted for and who wasn’t.

By Tuesday early evening (French time) it had been established that filmmaker Bjarne Salen and Daniel Ronnback were thankfully both safe, meaning that the other missing person could only be Andreas Fransson.

Just a few hours later reports from a number of Chilean news sources confirmed that two bodies were found on the Argentinean side of the mountain at the foot of a couloir, which had apparently given way while the men were climbing up it. Bjarne Salen and Daniel Ronnback were filming from an adjacent peak and called for help immediately but were too far from the avalanche site to be able to start a search themselves. Details of the accident are still coming through.

Auclair and Fransson were both well-known and respected in the Chamonix community for their legendary steep descents; they had collaborated many times on expeditions and had most recently been featured together in Happy Winter, also filmed by Bjarne Salen (see below).

More sad news was to follow as we learned of the death of Liz Daly, a 29 year old snowboarder from Tacoma, America. She was caught up in another avalanche whilst also in South America, this time in Cerro Vespignani near to Patagonia.

Liz was on the mountain with a large group of climbers when the avalanche struck, taking around 14 people with it. A rescue mission was immediately launched and her body was recovered soon after; as far as we know, Liz was the only casualty.

Liz Daly was a certified mountain guide and snowboard instructor who who had spent a lot of time in Chamonix and was well known in the community. Shortly before the avalanche her Facebook page revealed what a fantastic time she was having on her latest expedition, “the weather and snow conditions are absolutely amazing here in Patagonia. Someone pinch me”.

There are many in the Chamonix Valley who are mourning three exceptional people today, our thoughts and condolences go out to their family and friends.