Steep and deep certainly, but once again we are reminded of the dangers that skiers can encounter off-piste even in relatively good conditions: yesterday a 25 year old English woman slipped and fell 300m on the Couloir des Canadiens (no 2 on the picture), the most popular of these awesome routes. It was named after a group of Canadian soldiers who first discovered it was skiable in the 1950s.
The unfortunate woman suffered very serious head and facial injuries (she was wearing a helmet) and a broken leg. She was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Chambery, but because of the seriousness of her injures was transferred to the larger, more specialised hospital in Grenoble. One of her four companions was in such a state of shock that he had to be winched by helicopter back up to the Roche de Mio.
No one stepping out on to the north face of the Bellecote could be unaware of the risks, and no doubt the unfortunate skieuse took this into account when deciding to begin her descent. No doubt there will be mutterings about the dangers of off-piste skiing and should it be controlled, etc, but the mountain will always be there to offer exhilaration and excitement and to inspire respect for nature's most dramatic gifts to us.
We wish her a complete and speedy recovery, and bon courage to her friends and family.
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