British man, 23, found dead at bottom of cliff in French Alps ‘after après-ski event’

A British skier was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in the French Alps after reportedly attending an après-ski event. The man, who has not yet been named, was discovered at the popular ski resort of Avoriaz, in the Portes due Soleil region, in the early hours of Monday morning.

His death was confirmed by a local prosecutor yesterday. Local sources said the man had been skiing with friends on Sunday, before joining an an après ski party on the terrace of La Folie Douce, a restaurant in Avoriaz. It’s thought he tried to ski back to his accommodation alone after dusk and may have taken his skis off when conditions got too difficult.

It’s feared he then fell off the cliff. However, police are investigating the circumstances. The man’s friends raised the alarm when he did not get back and a search was launched, said investigating sources. His body was found and evacuated by helicopter, before being identified by next of kin on Tuesday.

A local police spokesman said: ‘The deceased is an English national who is thought to have been skiing on Sunday evening. His family have been informed.’. He said local prosecutors in nearby Thonon were coordinating the investigation, supported by gendarmes from Montriond as they tried to ‘to determine the cause of death’.

La Folie Douce stays open until 6pm, when most ski lifts have shut, meaning many visitors return to their hotels and chalets by skis or snowboard. Publicity for the restaurant reads: ‘From 3 pm the terrace takes on the appearance of an open-air club, with the legendary après-ski at La Folie Douce.’.

Avoriaz is situated on a plateau 800m above the town of Morzine, also a ski resort, and there have been previous accidents around the same sharp cliff face where the man was found. In 2018 two brothers aged 12 and 10 fell off the cliff after straying off the piste and getting lost.

The older boy died, while the younger, whose fall was slowed by tree branches, suffered a broken pelvis but survived. In 2020, a 25-year-old British doctor died after falling from a 30-foot cliff in Avoriaz, though it’s not clear if it was the same cliff.

William Reid had eaten lunch with his family and girlfriend before they decided to ski back back to their apartments. His girlfriend and his stepbrother then lost sight of him, but moments later came around the corner to see doctors trying to resuscitate him on the ground.

Last year two British men died in the Porte du Soleil ski area. One, a 47-year-old, was killed on a notorious black run known as The Swiss Wall in February after ignoring signs saying it was closed, while a 68-year-old died after colliding with a tree close to a blue run in March.

Concerning the latest death, a UK Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities.’. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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