Three skiers died on Sunday in three separate avalanches in the French Alps, bringing the weekend toll to six following three fatalities on Saturday. Authorities had warned of a high avalanche risk since Friday. Hundreds of motorists were also stranded by snow in the area.
The weekend of January 10-11, 2026, was marked by a tragic series of avalanches in the French Alps, with six skiers killed in total. On Saturday, three people died off-piste: two in Val d'Isère and one in Arêches-Beaufort, in Savoie.
On Sunday, three more fatal incidents were reported. In La Plagne, a British skier around 50 years old was buried under 2.5 meters of snow in the early afternoon. Despite the involvement of 52 rescuers, avalanche dogs, and a helicopter, he was located after 50 minutes but could not be revived, according to a station statement. In Courchevel, a skier was found dead in late morning under a snow slide, with no further details provided by the station. In Vallorcine, Haute-Savoie, a 32-year-old off-piste skier was swept away by an avalanche in late afternoon, thrown against a tree without being buried; he died from his injuries, the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) said.
Since Friday, Météo-France and the Savoie prefecture had issued warnings of a 'high' avalanche risk (level 4 out of 5) in nearly all Alpine massifs, urging 'extreme vigilance' and strongly advising against off-piste skiing. 'The passage of a single skier can trigger large avalanches,' a forecaster had warned. The Savoie prefecture recorded at least six avalanches just on Sunday morning in the department's ski areas.
Meanwhile, heavy snow disrupted roads. About 800 motorists spent the night from Saturday to Sunday in three gyms in Moûtiers, a key Savoyard road hub; all were able to depart Sunday morning, the prefecture said. In Val Thorens, 29 people slept in an emergency center, and 40 others were stuck in a bus to Arc 2000. A surfer in Tignes-le-Lac was injured, swept into the lake and hospitalized for hypothermia.
These events highlight the dangers of extreme winter conditions in the Alps, despite preventive measures.
