Xavier de Le Rue caught in an avalanche

March 29, 2008 2 pm, somewhere in the Swiss Alps…

Xavier de Le Rue, snow cross triple world champion, is doing a great ride in the beautiful light of a warm sun, when suddenly… Snow begin to rush around him. In the helicopter, Henrik Windstedt can do nothing but watch…

The rider from Saint-Lary is found 2 kilometres further. Thanks to his ABS backpack, he has been able to stay on top of the 6 metres high avalanche.

It’s been a close call…

Here’s what Xavier has to say about it :

It’s been a close call, as close as it could pretty much get and a great example for all riders to remind what the other side of the coin can look like. There are times where having the gear (beacon transceiver, probes, shovel, mountain guide, ABS backpack…) and the best technique doesn’t help much anymore. Good to keep that in mind for future session.