Mar 16 2008 - Trappier couloir namesake dies on annual ski tour of the Trappier couloir

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Tragic avalanche deaths of the Trappier couple on a day when the avalanche risk was relatively low.
Saturday the avalanche warning was down to 2. The access to the Trappier couloir faces north. None of these conditions could foretell that the 40 degree couloir was wind affected and would cede in an enormous slab avalanche.

Pierre and Marie-Jo Trappier were on a ski tour with three others heading to the start of the famous Trappier couloir which bears their name. The couloir starts under the Aiguille de Gouter and ends close to their chalet in Les Houches. It is accessed by the Bellevue lift station in Les Houches.

The three friends had just reached the flat area of the Rognes cabane. The Trappier couple were 50m behind them still in the couloir, when the couloir gave way in a slab avalanche 50m wide.

The high mountain gendarmes found their bodies less than an hour later and 1100m down the mountain.

The news spread quickly in Les Houches, where they were highly respected. Pierre Trappier belonged to the Caf (Club Alpin Français) and was an avid mountaineer. Marie-Jo was also very experienced coming from a family of high mountain guides. They ski the Trappier couloir at least once per year and there weren't any warning signs that this ski tour would be their last.
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Yesterday afternoon, the three friends who witnessed their friend fall to his death from the Brevent gondola, were released from custody. In the reconstruction of the drama, the three friends explained their version. Apparently the victim and another... [read]
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