Once again, it takes a tragic story to remind us that the infamous 20km off piste itinerary along the glacial Vallee Blanche in the Chamonix Valley is NOT a piste and you should always take a guide or join a organised guided group for your own safety.
A 25 year old Lithuanian skier arrived at the top of the Aiguille du Midi at 14 :00 on Friday (the 11th) and asked one of the lift workers : « Where's the piste ? ». The worker recounted his shock as he realised how ill prepared the young man was, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. Despite trying to persuade the skier not continue with his solo adventure down the classic route, the skier went on his way and promptly took the steepest route towards l'Envers du Plan, rather than the classic route.
It doesn't take too much imagination to imagine what happened next. At 21 :45, his landlady alerted the PGHM mountain rescue to say that the young man had not returned to his lodgings. With the very bad weather on Saturday, the rescue team couldn't intervene. Two Swedish skiers who had been rescued from the Vallee Blanche themselves on Friday, reported that they had seen the lone Lithuanian skier between l'Envers du Plan and the classic Vallee Blanche route in a particularly crevasse-prone section.
Mountain rescuers have done several detailed searches of the area from the ground and the air to no avail. Sadly, as I write, the young skier is still reported as missing and it looks likely that he fell into a crevasse, but finding him is an almost impossible task as he was on his own with no equipment.
So, whilst the Vallee Blanche can be one of the most wondrous days out with breathtaking views and vistas, it IS in the ‘high mountain' so anyone setting off on the adventure should be suitably equipped, with a good level of skiing or boarding and with a guide.
Photo credit: Chamonix Tourist Office
