"I'd been stopped maybe 2 seconds and the slope started to move. I pivoted to straightline but was swamped-no speed, no chance. The impact was like stepping off a curb in front of a 40 Tonne truck doing 60 mph."
"The morning began as a 'good for the soul' lap with friends Loic, Jeremy, and Giulia. Hewitt was leading the group, pushing off a small accumulation of snow near a pylon to test reactivity. He opened the throttles on his 194cm skis, making 'lovely big fast turns' before pulling up on a spur to eyeball the exit of a couloir."
"When the snow settled, Hewitt was on the surface but catastrophically injured. He was bleeding internally, his vision was failing, and his ribcage was locked, allowing only shallow, desperate breaths."
Ross Hewitt, a 49-year-old Scottish mountain guide based in Chamonix with nearly thirty years of experience, was caught in an avalanche on the Monte Bianco Skyway in late January 2026. While leading a group of friends on what began as a routine ski descent, Hewitt tested snow reactivity before the slope suddenly moved beneath him. He was thrown headfirst over rocks into a couloir, then struck by a second surge with devastating force. The impact caused multiple severe injuries including a shattered pelvis, broken back, internal bleeding, and compromised breathing. Despite his extensive experience and meticulous approach to risk management in mountaineering, the probability he had long managed finally materialized in a violent, high-altitude moment.
Read at SnowBrains
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