JP Auclair dies in avalanche

Disturbing reports are coming out of Chile that JP Auclair and Andreas Fransson were killed in an avalanche near the border of Argentine while skiing for a new film project.

They were climbing a couloir on Monte San Lorenzo when something above triggered the avalanche that took them all the way to the glacier 700 meters below.

The region the group was climbing in is very remote and mountainous. Bio Bio states the location is 18 hours from the nearest city, and a two hour flight just to the base of the trail. A rescue operation takes up to 13 hours to reach the area of the avalanche.

Bio Bio reported that Auclair and Fransson were with photographers Bjarne Salen and Daniel Ronnbak, both from Sweden. Salen and Ronnbak are unharmed. An emergency call via satellite phone was placed on Monday afternoon notifying authorities of the avalanche and the missing skiers. The group was filming a new webisode series called Apogee Skiing.

Also known as Mount Cochrane, Monte San Lorenzo stands at 12,159 feet high and encompasses three glaciers.

In an interview with Armada, Auclair said he met Fransson in Chamonix about three or four years ago. “He was excited to share all his knowledge and his approach to skiing he was doing in Chamonix,” Auclair said in the interview. “He had lots to teach me and I had a lot to learn from skiing with him. Ever year, we try to make a bit of time to ski together, but it was always hard with conflicts of schedule and trips. This year, we decided to do something more official and decided to dedicate time to ski together every year.”

Our condolences to family and friends. RIP

…at last… from JP Auclair on Vimeo.

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