Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage, France, 05 January (H.S.): A female cross-country skier perished Sunday after tumbling approximately 20 metres (65 feet) into a narrow, sheer-sided depression while navigating challenging backcountry terrain near this Alpine village perched at 1,500 metres elevation in the Mercantour National Park region of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Accompanied by her partner on the outing, the woman—whose identity and nationality authorities withheld pending family notification—succumbed despite rapid response from the PGHM high-mountain gendarmerie helicopter team, who airlifted her remains after confirming no vital signs at the remote site.
Local prefecture officials attributed the fatal mishap to the difficult terrain exacerbated by thin snowpack, issuing urgent advisories for winter sports enthusiasts to exercise extreme caution amid elevated avalanche hazards despite scant recent precipitation in southern France's Alpes-Maritimes department bordering Italy.
String of Alpine Fatalities
This incident compounds a rash of skiing deaths in the French Alps over recent days: Friday saw a 67-year-old man succumb after colliding mid-slope with his daughter near Val Thorens, propelling him fatally into a tree trunk; late December claimed an American off-piste skier in Chamonix whose Meribel-based guide later tested positive for narcotics during investigation.
France's 2025-2026 ski season has already logged over a dozen fatalities, prompting heightened scrutiny of piste markings, equipment standards, and operator liability amid climate-driven snow variability.
Safety Imperatives Heightened
Authorities reinforced calls for avalanche transceiver use, professional guiding in ungroomed areas, and adherence to marked trails, with the French Ski Federation noting a 15% uptick in backcountry incidents linked to novice adventurers chasing powder via social media lures.
Rescue operations in Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage underscored the perils of off-trail Nordic skiing, where narrow couloirs pose insidious drop risks invisible under fresh snow.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
