Four rescued after becoming lost off piste in Arc 2000

On Tuesday evening three skiers and a boarder were heading for the Turia refuge, where they planned to spend the night, when they lost their bearings in fog. Aged between 25 and 30, the four men were heading through the Hauts de Villaroger Nature Reserve to get to the Turia refuge.

Their excursion began with the chair lift that led to the very top of the pistes at Arc 2000. They then walked for 20 minutes before heading downhill. As night fell, the fog and lack of light reduced visibility dramatically and the men were soon completely lost. Mountain rescue teams (the PGHM or peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne) were alerted around 18.45 and tried, unsuccessfully, to locate them using their mobile phone signal.

Four of the mountain rescue team therefore set off in search of the young men. The piste management team made two piste bashers available so the rescuers could reach the Grand col right at the top of the resort. They then skied down the off piste sector, eventually locating the men, who were busy attracting attention by whistling, shouting and waving torches, at 23:00.

The men were accompanied to the refuge where everyone, including the rescuers, spent the night. They made it safely back to resort yesterday morning.

Source: Le Dauphiné