Isere, France – On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, three inexperienced and under equipped 20-year-old engineering students set off on foot from La Bérarde in Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans toward the Pilatte Refuge (2577m) where they planned to spend the night. At around 8pm, when they were approximately 50 meters from the shelter they were caught in an avalanche that was 300 meters wide and 70cm thick.
Two of the hikers were carried about 30 meters before they stopped near a cliff. The third hiker fell approximately 80 meters. This individual was not buried, but did suffer “a compaction of vertebra and a fracture to the jaw.” The uninjured hikers descended to the man and set up a bivouack on the mountain at roughly 2500 meters.
That night the temps dropped to approximately -10°C. They were unable to alert authorities because they could not get a cell signal. The next morning, one of the men walked 5 hours back to La Bérarde to seek rescue.
Two rescuers and a doctor from CRS responded by helicopter and took the injured man to the hospital in Grenoble. The fact that none of these students died in the avalanche, the fall, or during the night is a miracle. These aspiring mountaineers were incredibly lucky to walk away from this situation alive.
The Pilatte Refuge is owned by the French Alpine Club. It is located in Ecrins National Park on the Oisans Massif at 2577 meters.
