Man survives 17-hour burial as avalanche peril persists

“I’ve never heard of such a case before,” a police spokesman told journalists, after a 21-year-old man was pulled from the embrace of an avalanche in Evolène, canton Vaud on Sunday after 17 hours of burial.

Experts consider the first 45 minutes are crucial to the survival of engulfed victims.

Suffering just mild hypothermia, the man’s survival was due to an air pocket conveniently located above his face some 50 centimetres underneath the snow. Interment also sheltered him from more serious exposure to the elements.

Reported missing by his family, the victim was located by a sharp-eyed rescue helicopter crew who spotted movement on the surface of the affected area and chose to investigate.

The case was one of 11 in Switzerland as snow slides struck over the weekend in the cantons of Fribourg, Grisons, Valais and Vaud. “Exceedingly numerous avalanches triggered by backcountry skiers and freeriders on Sunday underscored again the very treacherous situation”, said Switzerland's Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos.

Miraculously, all victims were able to extract themselves from the snow or were rescued.

On Monday, the institute issued a level three warning for the Alpine region in Switzerland and said that the prognosis is unlikely to improve.

Benjamin Zweifel, avalanche forecaster with the institute, told Swisster: “The snow cover is very bad with some very weak layers and this will not change so fast and could stay at danger level three for the next few days.”

“We have had quite a while of cold weather and this caused some big crystals which are now under the snow drifted accumulations and this is a bad combination,” he expanded.

“The new snow has not been heavy enough to form a stable layer,” Zweifel added.

“The avalanche prone locations are to be found on steep slopes,” according to Monday’s bulletin which stated that northern flanks of the Alps in Grisons and Valais were most vulnerable.

“Avalanches can be triggered even by a single skier. In isolated cases, naturally triggered avalanches are also possible,” it continued and warned skiers to be on the alert for what it called “whumpfing sounds” which are “indicators of the peril”.

Those planning ski or snowboard trips off the marked runs are advised to think again. “Extensive experience in spotting and assessing avalanche dangers is imperative for backcountry tours in outlying terrain away from secured ski runs,” said the bulletin.  

Meanwhile other victims buried elsewhere in the European Alpine chain during the weekend’s avalanches were not so lucky as those in Switzerland.

Seven people died throughout the Austrian, French and Italian Alps.