Skier buried by avalanche frees himself

A skier buried by an avalanche yesterday (Sun) near Klösterle am Arlberg, Vorarlberg, was able to free himself, police said.The man and a male companion triggered a 40-metre wide avalanche about 11:30am. The other man was also caught in the avalanche but was not buried.A skier who witnessed the avalanche called rescuers.In a more serious incident last week, a 50-year-old skier from Ehrwald, Tyrol, died in an avalanche on Tuesday near Gamskars in the province’s Zugspitz area.Police said the man’s wife reported him missing at 8pm, and searchers found his body at 11pm under 30 centimetres of snow at an altitude of 1,800 metres.In another mountain accident, two people ski touring in Upper Austria ended up in hospital just over a week ago after falls.The separate accidents occurred in Roßleithen in the Kirchdorf district and near the Simony hut on the Dachstein. In both cases, the injured skiers were taken by helicopter to local hospitals.Two weeks ago, a 42-year-old Norwegian woman who had suffered serious head injuries when she was caught in an avalanche died at Innsbruck University Clinic.