A solo ski tour in the French Alps nearly ended in tragedy this week — and the survival story that emerged is equal parts harrowing and instructive for anyone who heads into winter backcountry.
Emeric Ossatte, a 39-year-old from the Grenoble area, was ski touring alone near the Italian border in Savoie when he took his skis off to boot up a steep couloir. An avalanche swept him downhill and dropped him into a crevasse, shattering both legs. He had no beacon and no radio, and there was no phone signal at the bottom of the crack. Still, he ditched his pack and crawled 100 metres through the crevasse looking for a route out. When the walls proved too steep, he settled beside an air pocket and waited through the night.
His family raised the alarm when he failed to check in. Rescuers from the CRS Savoie mountain-rescue unit spotted the avalanche path but found no sign of him, and dangerous snow conditions forced them to halt the search in the middle of the night. The next morning they returned in force: 28 rescuers on the ground, avalanche dogs, three helicopters and a doctor on standby. After five hours of digging near his recovered gear, they heard his voice. Major Yoann Haberey of the rescue team didn't mince words: they hadn't expected to find him alive. By the time Ossatte was lifted out, he had spent roughly a day and a half in the ice. He was flown to hospital hypothermic and underwent surgery on one leg.
Why should holiday travellers care? Because the French Alps — Savoie, Chamonix, the Ecrins — draw thousands of ski tourers and off-piste skiers every winter, many of them underestimating exactly the conditions that caught Ossatte. The lesson stack here is hard to ignore: he was alone, he carried no transceiver, and he had no way to call out. Any one of those factors going the other way — a partner with a beacon, a working phone, a radio — could have cut the rescue from 36 hours to a few. The air pocket in the crevasse is what kept him breathing; luck kept him alive. Avalanche risk also shaped the rescue itself, grounding the team overnight, which is a reminder that your rescuers face the same mountain you do.
If you're planning a ski touring trip or any off-piste adventure in the Alps this winter, go with a guide if you're new to the terrain, carry avalanche safety gear and know how to use it, leave a route plan with someone who will actually act on it, and check the local avalanche bulletin every single morning. Ossatte's story ends well. The next one doesn't have to be left to chance.
