Three Backcountry Skiers Die In Avalanche In Spanish Pyrenees

Three backcountry skiers were killed after an avalanche swept through a high-altitude slope in the Spanish Pyrenees on Sunday, local authorities confirmed. Rescue teams recovered the victims after an intensive search that lasted several hours; two other members of the party were treated for hypothermia and minor injuries and released from hospital.

The group, made up of five experienced skiers from different regions of Spain, was traversing an off‑piste route above a valley in the central Pyrenees when a slab of unstable snow released and carried them down a steep couloir. Witnesses in a nearby hut alerted mountain rescue services after hearing the collapse and seeing the debris field.

The tragedy occurred around 1:00 PM local time on the slopes of Pico Tablato, near the spa town of Panticosa in the province of Huesca. The group of six ski mountaineers was ascending at an altitude of approximately 2,700 meters when a massive wind-slab avalanche was triggered, sweeping four members of the party several hundred meters down the mountainside.

Among the deceased is Jorge García Dihinx, 55, a renowned pediatrician at San Jorge Hospital in Huesca and a widely followed social media influencer. Known for his popular blog, La Meteo Que Viene, García Dihinx was considered an expert in Pyrenean meteorology and avalanche safety.

The other victims have been identified as:

• Natalia Román, 36, García Dihinx’s partner and an experienced mountaineer.
• Eneko Arrastua, 48, a resident of Irún in the Basque Country.

A fourth skier, a 29-year-old woman, was rescued from the debris suffering from hypothermia and was airlifted to a hospital in Huesca. The remaining two members of the group were unhurt and were the ones who alerted emergency services.

The Spanish Civil Guard’s mountain rescue unit (GREIM) launched an immediate response, deploying helicopters, specialized mountain agents, and search dogs. Rescuers described the scene as a "massive slab" that had broken loose on a wind-loaded slope, creating a debris field 300 meters wide and nearly 700 meters long.

"It was a fight against the elements," said a spokesperson for the GREIM. "The snow in some areas was up to four meters deep. Despite the group’s high level of experience and proper equipment, the sheer scale of the slide made survival nearly impossible for those caught in its center."

Aragon’s President, Jorge Azcón, expressed his "profound shock" at the news, cancelling his official schedule to travel to the region and offer support to the victims' families.

The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) had issued a Level 3 ("Considerable") avalanche risk for the region on the day of the accident. Following a series of heavy snowfalls over the Christmas period combined with high winds, officials had warned of unstable "wind slabs" forming on north and west-facing slopes.

Experts note that these slabs are particularly dangerous because they can appear stable to the naked eye but can fracture under the weight of a single skier.

Safety Summary

Authorities continue to urge extreme caution for anyone entering the backcountry this week, as cold temperatures and persistent wind continue to keep the snowpack unstable across the Pyrenees.