British skier, 63, dies after hitting rock

Popular but dangerous: Les Deux Alpes
12 April 2012

A British skier has been killed in the French Alps in an accident at a popular tourist resort.

John Atkinson, 63, an experienced skier, died after the crash at Les Deux Alpes, east of Grenoble.

Rescuers said he hit a rock at high speed yesterday in an area known as La Fée, or The Fairy, after skiing off piste about 80 feet from the marked route.

Mr Atkinson, was on holiday with his wife Susan and their grown-up son and daughter, who are in their twenties. He was skiing ahead of them when the accident happened.

They did not see him fall but a skier nearby immediately called the emergency services.

A doctor who was also on holiday tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Mr Atkinson but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A spokesman for Deux Alpes police, who are investigating the death, said Mr Atkinson, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, was not wearing a helmet.

Mr Atkinson, a self-employed transport consultant, had booked his holiday with tourist company Les Deux Alpes Loisirs.

Marie-Claude Berini, from the company's rescue department based at the resort, said Mr Atkinson's wife had decided not to go out that day and had stayed at their rented apartment. She said: "Mr Atkinson was skiing at 2,400 metres and hit a rock. He was experienced, but you always take a risk if you go off-piste."

Another company spokesman added: "The skier had left the piste and violently hit a rock that was 25 metres from the edge of the piste.

"The ski patrol, who were alerted by the fire brigade that had been called by a skier, found the person unconscious."

It is the third death in less than two years at the ski resort, which is very popular because it has 140 miles of piste and the largest skiable glacier in Europe.

In March last year Britons Richard Ryan, 27, and friend Christopher Lockwood, 28, fell to their deaths in a ravine when they were walking back to their accommodation after a night out.

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