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Friday, March 29, 2024

Avalanche hurled skier to his death

UPDATED: Search and rescue crews found a body on Tuesday in a mountainous area of southern Norway where they were looking for a missing skier. He’d failed to return as agreed from a trek in the mountains near Vågå in Oppland County, and officials later confirmed he’d been killed by a dramatic fall caused by an avalanche.

The body was found where an avalanche is believed to have crashed down from the north side of the summit of the peak called Tjønnholstinden at Valdresflya in the mountains of Jotunheimen. Rescue workers had earlier found a backpack and pair of skis at a higher elevation.

Rescue and police helicopters took part in the search for the man and he was found under the edge of the 2,331-meter-high Tjønnholstinden.

The body was later identified as the skier reported missing. Local newspaper Gudbandsdølen Dagningen reported that authorities believe he may have fallen as far as 400 meters down the mountainside when he was caught in the plunging masses of snow.

Even though the ski season is over in most areas of southern Norway, the mountains still beckon cross-country enthusiasts for late spring skiing. Rapidly changing temperatures and wind, however, have also increased the avalanche danger.

The body was retrieved by a mountaineering rescue group and flown out of the area. The missing skier was a man from Valdres in his 30s. He had set off on his ski trip around 10am Monday and was reported missing when he failed to return Monday evening.

newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund

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