Off Piste Avalanche Kills Skier In Arosa, Switzerland

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Mountain Journey
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Swiss Man Killed In Off Piste Avalanche In Plessur Alps of Switzerland Near Arosa

Arosa, Switzerland – On Sunday, April 3, 2016 a 55-year-old Swiss man was killed in an off piste avalanche in the Plessur Alps while riding in the tourist resort of Arosa in the canton of Grisons (Graubünden) in Switzerland.

Arosa, Switzerland | Pixabay Image
Arosa, Switzerland | Pixabay Image

The man was spending the weekend with his wife in Arosa. On Sunday afternoon, the wife went down to the valley and the man took a solo run. At this point, it is unclear whether he was skiing or snowboarding. When he did not return that evening the wife notified authorities.

Rescuers included ski patrol, SAC section of Arosa Rega, and Graubunden Cantonal Police. The man was found dead in an avalanche by ski patrol on Monday morning at 3 AM.

Authorities believe the man had left the upper mountain via the Hörnli-Express and then rode toward the Aroser Alp when he triggered an avalanche outside of the controlled ski area at approximately 2200 meters.

According to the SLF.ch Avalanche Report, the avalanche occurred in the starting zone of Verborgnen Weng at 2230 meters on a NE aspect. One person was caught, buried, and killed. The avalanche danger at the time was 1/3. Based on the SLF.ch map, the avalanche occurred to the southeast of the Hornlihutte and Hornli Express lift.

This is the 14th avalanche fatality in Switzerland during the 2015/2016 hydrological year (October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016) – 10 backcountry fatalities and 4 off piste fatalities. Two other tragic avalanche accidents occurred last week in Switzerland:

We will update this post as more information becomes available.

Map location is approximate.
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Read more about the avalanche fatality in Arosa, Switzerland from these sources: