The lifts were open and skiers were calmly making their way down the slopes when an avalanche broke loose from a slope, sweeping over a chairlift that was running at the time. It happened on March 2, 2012 at the French ski resort of St Francois-Longchamps, in broad daylight.
The 500-meter slide of snow broke away gently from a slope, sweeping away everything in its path and coming to a halt at the base of the lift. The snow was released by the high temperatures (above the seasonal average) and the large amount of snow lying on the ground.
The avalanche was filmed by the skiers themselves who were skiing on the adjacent piste at that moment, and some of these skiers were trapped on the chairlift because of the avalanche. Fortunately no one was injured, but some skiers were left stuck on the chairlift and were freed with the help of a helicopter.
The incident caught the attention of many: the temperatures of these days have completely transformed the mountain climate, greatly speeding up the thaw, and the avalanche risk is high, above all because of the heavy snowfalls that have marked the winter in the French Alps.
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