A British skier has tragically died after being caught in an avalanche in the French Alps, part of a devastating weekend that claimed the lives of six people across the region.
A Deadly Sunday in La Plagne
Rescue teams at the La Plagne resort received an alert about the avalanche at 1.57pm on Sunday, January 11, 2026. A major search operation was immediately launched, involving a team of around 52 people. This group included medics, ski school instructors, and a specially trained piste dog deployed by helicopter.
After approximately 50 minutes of intensive searching, the man was located. He was buried under 2.5 metres (eight feet) of snow. The resort confirmed the British national was with a group when the avalanche struck but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not accompanied by a professional instructor.
In a statement, the management of La Plagne expressed that their thoughts were with the man's family and loved ones.
A Weekend of High Avalanche Danger
This incident was not isolated. The same day, rescue teams recovered the body of another skier who had been buried in an avalanche in the nearby prestigious resort of Courchevel. Furthermore, the local gendarmerie reported that a 32-year-old off-piste skier died after being caught in an avalanche at Vallorcine in the Haute-Savoie region.
The deadly weekend began on Saturday, when two separate avalanches claimed the lives of three off-piste skiers elsewhere in the French Alps. French weather forecasters had issued clear warnings of a high risk of avalanches across the Alps for the weekend. Officials in the Savoie region alone recorded at least six avalanches in the department's ski areas on Sunday morning.
Critical Safety Lessons
This series of tragedies underscores the severe and ever-present dangers of skiing off-piste, especially when avalanche risk is elevated. The death of the British skier highlights two critical safety failures common in such incidents:
- Lack of essential safety equipment: He was not carrying an avalanche transceiver (also known as a beacon), which is crucial for locating a buried victim quickly.
- Skiing without professional guidance: He was not with a professional mountain guide or instructor who is trained to assess terrain and snow conditions.
These events serve as a stark reminder to all winter sports enthusiasts to always heed official warnings, carry the correct safety gear—including a transceiver, probe, and shovel—and consider hiring a qualified guide when venturing away from marked pistes.
