Three People, Including American Teen, Killed in Swiss Avalanche Near Zermatt Resort

Published: 02 April 2024 at 08:28

Travel

An American teenager and two others died in an avalanche near the Zermatt resort in Switzerland, with another person sustaining serious injuries. The incident occurred off-piste at Riffelberg, below the Matterhorn peak, with three bodies recovered and one injured skier rescued. Authorities are investigating the identities of the victims, including a 15-year-old American boy. This tragedy follows a previous incident where five members of a Swiss family were found dead near the Matterhorn. A separate avalanche on Easter Monday claimed the lives of three individuals, including an American teenager, near Zermatt, prompting a significant rescue effort involving helicopters and various rescue teams.

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Search On for Six Missing Skiers in Swiss Alps Amid Severe Weather Conditions

Authorities are searching for six cross-country skiers, including five from the same family, who went missing on a ski tour from Zermatt to Arolla in the Swiss Alps near the Matterhorn mountain. Difficult weather conditions, including a storm and avalanche risks, have hindered rescue efforts. The skiers, aged 21 to 58, were last located near Tete Blanche mountain, and rescue teams are facing challenges due to heavy snowfall and high winds. Despite harsh conditions, there is optimism for their survival if they have built a snow shelter.

Zermatt (Wikipedia)

Zermatt (German: [tsɛʁˈmat] , Swiss Standard German: [tsɛrˈmat]) is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).It lies at the upper end of Mattertal at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft), at the foot of Switzerland's highest peaks. It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the over 3,292 m (10,801 ft) high Theodul Pass bordering Italy. Zermatt is the southernmost commune of the German Sprachraum.Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the construction of many tourist facilities. The year-round population (as of December 2020) is 5,820, though there may be several times as many tourists in Zermatt at any one time. Much of the local economy is based on tourism, with about half of the jobs in town in hotels or restaurants and just under half of all apartments are vacation apartments. Just over one-third of the permanent population was born in the town, while another third moved to Zermatt from outside Switzerland.

Matterhorn (Wikipedia)

The Matterhorn (German: [ˈmatɐˌhɔʁn] , Swiss Standard German: [ˈmatərˌhɔrn]; Italian: Cervino [tʃerˈviːno]; French: Cervin [sɛʁvɛ̃]; Romansh: Mont(e) Cervin(u)) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the Hörnli, Furggen, Leone/Lion, and Zmutt ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast; and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman Era.The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late eighteenth century, and was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as John Ruskin, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led by Edward Whymper, but during the descent, a sudden fall claimed the lives of four of the seven climbers. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world.The Matterhorn is mainly composed of gneisses (originally fragments of the African Plate before the Alpine orogeny) from the Dent Blanche nappe, lying over ophiolites and sedimentary rocks of the Penninic nappes. The mountain's current shape is the result of cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak, such as the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face. Sometimes referred to as the Mountain of Mountains (German: Berg der Berge), it has become an indelible emblem of the Alps in general. Since the end of the 19th century, when railways were built in the area, the mountain has attracted increasing numbers of visitors and climbers. Each year, numerous mountaineers try to climb the Matterhorn from the Hörnli Hut via the northeast Hörnli ridge, the most popular route to the summit. Many trekkers also undertake the 10-day-long circuit around the mountain. The Matterhorn has been part of the Swiss Federal Inventory of Natural Monuments since 1983.

Klein Matterhorn (Wikipedia)

The Klein Matterhorn (sometimes translated as Little Matterhorn) is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At 3,883 metres (12,740 ft) above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway or gondola lift, as well as by any other means of transport. The Klein Matterhorn is part of the Breithorn massif and overlooks on its south side the almost equally high flat glacier named Breithorn Plateau, just north of the international border with Italy. The name "Klein Matterhorn" is a reference to its much larger neighbour, the Matterhorn, which lies 7 km (4.3 mi) away across the Theodul Pass.The Klein Matterhorn, with the adjacent ski-lifts to the slightly higher Gobba di Rollin, is also a year-round ski area, marketed as "Matterhorn Glacier Paradise", and part of the international ski area between Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia.Fast ascents to a height above 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) will frequently lead to headaches or other symptoms of altitude sickness with sensitive people.

Stockhorn (Zermatt) (Wikipedia)

The Stockhorn (3,532 metres (11,588 ft)) is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located to the southeast of the town of Zermatt. It lies on the range between the Findel and Gorner glaciers, east of the Gornergrat.The Stockhorn is part of the Zermatt ski area. A now-defunct cable car station at an altitude of 3,405 metres (11,171 ft) is located west of the summit; the original aerial tramway connecting the Gornergrat to the Stockhorn via Hohtälli was dismantled in 2007.

First ascent of the Matterhorn (Wikipedia)

The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 1865. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz were killed on the descent when Hadow slipped and pulled the other three with him down the north face. Whymper and the Taugwalder guides, who survived, were later accused of having cut the rope below to ensure that they were not dragged down with the others, but the subsequent inquiry found no evidence of this and they were acquitted.The ascent followed a long series of usually separate attempts by Edward Whymper and Jean-Antoine Carrel to reach the summit. Carrel's group had been 200 m below the summit on the Italian side when Croz and Whymper summited. The climbers from Valtournenche withdrew deflated, but three days later Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich reached the summit without incident. The Matterhorn was the last great Alpine peak to be climbed and its first ascent marked the end of the golden age of alpinism.

Ski star Odermatt seals World Cup super-G title as teammate Rogentin leads Swiss sweep of podium

Switzerlands Marco Odermatt celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, mens World Cup super-G race, in Saalbach, Austria, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati) Switzerlands Stefan Rogentin, winner of an alpine ski, mens World Cup super-G race, left, hugs Switzerlands Marco Odermatt, winner of the super-G discipline, in Saalbach, Austria, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati) Switzerlands Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, mens World Cup super-G race, in Saalbach, Austria, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati) Austrias Vincent Kriechmayr checks his time at the finish area of an alpine ski, mens World Cup super-G race, in Saalbach, Austria, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati) Switzerlands Stefan Rogentin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, mens World Cup super-G race, in Saalbach, Austria, Friday, March 22, 2024.

Air Zermatt (Wikipedia)

Air Zermatt AG is a Swiss airline and flight school based in Zermatt. The company has an office at the Aéroport de Sion in the canton of Valais and bases in Gampel, Raron and Zermatt. It employs approximately 65 people.