Over 24 hours in a crevasse: ski tourer found alive in the Savoie Alps
The Rocca d'Ambin and the Denti d'Ambin on the French-Italian border, in an October 2007 photo without snow. The accident happened in the vallon d'Ambin below these peaks. Photo: Franco56 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
A 39-year-old ski tourer survived more than 24 hours in a crevasse in the Maurienne valley of Savoie. An avalanche carried him into it on Sunday 8 November 2026. Rescuers dug him out on Monday 9 November at 14:30, with both legs broken. He carried no avalanche transceiver, and that made the search much longer.
In short
- The man, from the Grenoble area, set off on Saturday 7 November for a two-day tour in the Mont-Cenis massif.
- On Sunday morning a slab avalanche in the vallon d'Ambin carried him into a crevasse.
- With fractures in both legs, he crawled a little more than 100 metres to a cavity about 15 metres below the surface.
- 22 CRS rescuers, 6 PGHM gendarmes, a doctor, 2 dog teams and 3 helicopters took part in the search.
- Rescuers ask every touring skier to carry a transceiver, a shovel and a probe now that snow is back at altitude.
What happened in the vallon d'Ambin
The skier left Bramans, above Modane, on Saturday 7 November and spent the night in the refuge d'Ambin, Le Dauphiné Libéré reports. He left the hut at about 08:00 on Sunday 8 November. His goal was the summit of the Sommeiller.
At the foot of a steep couloir he took off his skis, strapped them to his backpack and continued on foot with crampons. According to Le Dauphiné, that step triggered a slab avalanche. The snow carried him down and he fell into a crevasse.
He broke the femur of one leg and the lower bones of the other, the paper writes. ICI Pays de Savoie, the local Radio France station, names a femur fracture and fractures of the tibia and fibula.
100 metres on two broken legs
He was alone and had no phone signal. He left his backpack and skis behind and crawled down a ramp of snow inside the crevasse, hoping to find a way out.
"He crawled for a little more than 100 metres, until he reached a kind of cavity about 15 metres below the surface," Major Haberey of the CRS Alpes unit in Albertville told Le Dauphiné. From there he could not get out without climbing. ICI describes the same place as an air pocket where he waited for help.
A search over two days
| Time | What happened |
|---|---|
| Sat 7 Nov | Departure from Bramans, night in the refuge d'Ambin |
| Sun 8 Nov, about 08:00 | Leaves the refuge for the Sommeiller |
| Sun 8 Nov, morning | Slab avalanche in the vallon d'Ambin, fall into a crevasse |
| Sun 8 Nov, 22:00–23:00 | A relative raises the alarm |
| Night to Mon 9 Nov, 02:00 | Four CRS rescuers search on foot, then stop for the night |
| Mon 9 Nov, 07:00 | Helicopter flight finds the avalanche tracks |
| Mon 9 Nov, 14:30 | Skier freed after five hours of probing and digging |
Sources: Le Dauphiné Libéré and ICI Pays de Savoie, 9 November 2026.
The first team of four rescuers walked until 02:00 and found traces of his route, Le Dauphiné reports. They stopped because of the late hour and the risk of a second avalanche in the dark.
On Monday a team flew up with the gendarmerie helicopter from Modane at 07:00 and spotted the avalanche from the air. ICI counts 22 CRS rescuers, six members of the PGHM gendarmerie mountain unit, a SMUR emergency doctor, two dog handlers and three helicopters.
The teams probed and dug in the avalanche debris for five hours, despite the risk of a further slide. They found him because they heard his voice. He was hypothermic and was flown to the university hospital in Grenoble. As of 10 November 2026, no outlet has reported on his condition after admission.
No transceiver, no quick find
The man carried no avalanche transceiver (DVA in French), the rescuers told ICI. A transceiver sends a signal that rescuers and companions can follow to a buried person, so the search area shrinks from a whole slope to a few square metres.
With fresh snow back at altitude, the rescuers ask skiers and hikers for great caution. ICI lists the basic kit they ask for on every ski tour: a transceiver, a shovel and a probe. Without it, this search depended on the man's own voice.
What this means for your touring kit
Fresh snow at altitude starts the touring season for many skiers in November. The rescuers' first point is the safety kit, before any choice of skis. A tour alone also leaves nobody on the slope to start a search at once.
The second point is the boot-pack. In a steep couloir many tourers carry their skis on the pack, as this skier did. Ski weight then sits on your back for the whole climb. We compared the makers' figures for four touring skis around 88 mm underfoot:
| Ski | Length | Waist | Weight per ski (maker) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynafit Blacklight 88 | 172 cm | 88 mm | 1,150 g |
| Hagan Ultra 89 | 170 cm | 89 mm | 1,130 g |
| Fischer Transalp 86 CTI | 169 cm | 86 mm | 1,190 g |
| Atomic Backland 88 | 176 cm | 90 mm | 1,300 g |
A light ski does not prevent an avalanche. Snow conditions, the route and the decision to turn back matter more. If you want a touring ski that matches your weight, level and terrain, our ski finder compares the whole catalog for you.
Sources
- Le Dauphiné Libéré, "« C'est vraiment un miraculé » : un homme retrouvé vivant après avoir passé la nuit dans une cavité", Elsa Simler, 9 November 2026
- ICI Pays de Savoie, "Maurienne : un skieur de randonnée retrouvé plus de 24 heures après avoir été emporté par une avalanche", Tommy Cattaneo and Fabien Farge-Champion, 9 November 2026
- Ski specifications: the makers' figures in the Pick-A-Ski catalog
