Latest JP AUCLAIR & ANDREAS FRANSSON Update
- Thread starter FelixRioux
- Start date
Probably the most reliable and accurate description about what happened JP and Andreas on Monte San Lorenzo comes from Trey Cook via his Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0230261306002.350274.670846001&type=1&fref=nf
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Trey Cook
I’ve spoken with Stefan Palm, an instructor in the SBO Svenska Bergsguideorganisationen, who passed me a few details about the tragic accident that claimed the lives of Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair.
What is known is that on 29th Sept at around mid-day in Patagonia, Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair planned to climb and ski the San Lorenzo couloir on Monte San Lorenzo, a 3,706 meter peak on the border of Chile and Argentina in the Patagonian Andes. About two-thirds of the way up, they were swept by a snow release very high above them that carried them about 700 meters down the couloir on to a heavily crevassed glacier.
Filmakers Bjarne Salén and Daniel Rönnbäck were in place to film the descent when they saw the accident happen but were separated by four hours of heavily crevassed terrain. Using their radio, they tried to contact Andreas and JP but there was no answer to their calls. Bjarne and Daniel then used their satellite phone to call Swedish mountain guide Per Ås (in France) and Rolo Garibotti, an Argentine climber who is an authority on the area (currently in Italy) who both advised them to stay put due to the immense and dangerous glacier, cloudy weather, limited time, as well as the difficult situation they were in. Per immediately called his colleague Stefan Palm who has a large network in Chile.
Garibotti then contacted a number of people and by luck Chilean climber Armando Montero happened to be at the trailhead of San Lorenzo, about to start an ascent of the peak. Montero returned to the closest town - Cochrane, Chile - and informed the local authorities. Once the rescue was started Montero and his partner headed back up the mountain, to meet Bjarne and Daniel, whom they met that evening at their base camp.
Stefan Palm also contacted Joaquin Oyarzun, from Heli Ski Guides, a Chilean outfit, to try to organize a helicopter rescue but found that the closest heli was 200 miles away and wouldn’t be able to leave unit the next day, 30 Sept.
Fast action by the authorities, police and military ensured that on Tuesday, 30 Sept at 9:00a, a helicopter flew over to the accident site. The helicopter stopped at basecamp and picked up Montero, an experienced guide and mountaineer. Because of the severe terrain the helicopter was unable to land but nevertheless flew quite low and were able to spot both climbers. Both pilot and Montero who were in the heli reported they had no doubt that both skiers were dead and had probably died immediately. A rescue attempt was therefore called off.
Because the accident occurred on the Argentinian side of the mountain the body recovery is now in the hands of the Argentine gendarmerie. On Tuesday morning a team of five Argentine gendarmes set off to try to reach the bodies. Because of the remoteness it is unlikely that a foot mission will succeed, but there is hope to secure a helicopter later today.
I've also received news that Bjarne and Daniel are now safely off the mountain.
Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and many friends of these two beloved skiers. Special thanks go to Armando Montero and his partner, as well as to Alvaro Herrera, the captain of Carabineros of Cochrane, and to the rest of the authorities that have helped so far.
Share · Today · Edited ·
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https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0230261306002.350274.670846001&type=1&fref=nf
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Trey Cook
I’ve spoken with Stefan Palm, an instructor in the SBO Svenska Bergsguideorganisationen, who passed me a few details about the tragic accident that claimed the lives of Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair.
What is known is that on 29th Sept at around mid-day in Patagonia, Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair planned to climb and ski the San Lorenzo couloir on Monte San Lorenzo, a 3,706 meter peak on the border of Chile and Argentina in the Patagonian Andes. About two-thirds of the way up, they were swept by a snow release very high above them that carried them about 700 meters down the couloir on to a heavily crevassed glacier.
Filmakers Bjarne Salén and Daniel Rönnbäck were in place to film the descent when they saw the accident happen but were separated by four hours of heavily crevassed terrain. Using their radio, they tried to contact Andreas and JP but there was no answer to their calls. Bjarne and Daniel then used their satellite phone to call Swedish mountain guide Per Ås (in France) and Rolo Garibotti, an Argentine climber who is an authority on the area (currently in Italy) who both advised them to stay put due to the immense and dangerous glacier, cloudy weather, limited time, as well as the difficult situation they were in. Per immediately called his colleague Stefan Palm who has a large network in Chile.
Garibotti then contacted a number of people and by luck Chilean climber Armando Montero happened to be at the trailhead of San Lorenzo, about to start an ascent of the peak. Montero returned to the closest town - Cochrane, Chile - and informed the local authorities. Once the rescue was started Montero and his partner headed back up the mountain, to meet Bjarne and Daniel, whom they met that evening at their base camp.
Stefan Palm also contacted Joaquin Oyarzun, from Heli Ski Guides, a Chilean outfit, to try to organize a helicopter rescue but found that the closest heli was 200 miles away and wouldn’t be able to leave unit the next day, 30 Sept.
Fast action by the authorities, police and military ensured that on Tuesday, 30 Sept at 9:00a, a helicopter flew over to the accident site. The helicopter stopped at basecamp and picked up Montero, an experienced guide and mountaineer. Because of the severe terrain the helicopter was unable to land but nevertheless flew quite low and were able to spot both climbers. Both pilot and Montero who were in the heli reported they had no doubt that both skiers were dead and had probably died immediately. A rescue attempt was therefore called off.
Because the accident occurred on the Argentinian side of the mountain the body recovery is now in the hands of the Argentine gendarmerie. On Tuesday morning a team of five Argentine gendarmes set off to try to reach the bodies. Because of the remoteness it is unlikely that a foot mission will succeed, but there is hope to secure a helicopter later today.
I've also received news that Bjarne and Daniel are now safely off the mountain.
Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and many friends of these two beloved skiers. Special thanks go to Armando Montero and his partner, as well as to Alvaro Herrera, the captain of Carabineros of Cochrane, and to the rest of the authorities that have helped so far.
Share · Today · Edited ·
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joesdapoes
Member
13154190:hkn said:
Damn...
I really hope it went by quickly
They died doing what they loved to do
You will never be forgotten
Zimmy
Active member
There is an inspiring film about Andreas' descent of Denali here (and also Chamonix) - "Salomon Freeski TV S6 E07 - Tempting Fear." On his blog he discusses recent deaths of his friends Felix Hentz and Magnus Kastengren.
Very eloquent in word, and self-aware. Bringing his truth forward, and looking to heal his soul. If he had final thoughts, I doubt he would've been panicking.
Combining mountaineering with skiing is just a high risk endeavor, but obviously a worthwhile one if people continue to do it. Then again, if a person accepts some challenge that is within reach, but fails in it, and dies as a result, then that seems like a life responsibly lived (at least to some level.)
Fredrik Ericsson, also from Sweden died descending K2 in 2010.
I don't know how adept or accustomed Auclair was with mountaineering and all the risks involved. But will be sorely missed by many. SIP.
Very eloquent in word, and self-aware. Bringing his truth forward, and looking to heal his soul. If he had final thoughts, I doubt he would've been panicking.
Combining mountaineering with skiing is just a high risk endeavor, but obviously a worthwhile one if people continue to do it. Then again, if a person accepts some challenge that is within reach, but fails in it, and dies as a result, then that seems like a life responsibly lived (at least to some level.)
Fredrik Ericsson, also from Sweden died descending K2 in 2010.
I don't know how adept or accustomed Auclair was with mountaineering and all the risks involved. But will be sorely missed by many. SIP.
FelixRioux
Member
I'm sad to say there is now no chance of survival of our fallen friends.
I've lost a good friend and an amazing inspiration. JP will leave a huge void in our lives.
Peace and love to you JP
I've lost a good friend and an amazing inspiration. JP will leave a huge void in our lives.
Peace and love to you JP
BK
Active member
13154190:hkn said:
Thanks for posting this, although more detail in a gruesome scenario is hard to read, it provides a ton of closure to know more details about the situation and scene on site, especially after reports that they may still be clinging to life out there, alone and injured. I was checking this thread once every 10 minutes yesterday hoping to read about a miracle.
The movie 13 and JPs skiing helped point me in a direction and shaped my life into what it is today. Will never forget how amazing this man was and how humbling the mountains can be.
I hope these two are skiing above us at this very moment, in a place where the danger & terror of our mortal world do not exist.
alexissefb
Member
ski in peace JP, we will never forget you as a big pioneer for the skiing industry. That said you've died in an avalanche, i prefer to say that you died in your home, where you've passed the most of your life, on the mountain !! doing what you like and live for.
SIP from Quebec
SIP from Quebec
Thanks - I agree with you.
I think we were all hoping for something extraordinary as just trying to take it all in is hard enough.
To a degree, I think understanding the circumstances will help us to cope with things although the mere facts are pretty tough to digest (to put it mildly). Apart from being a credible report, it also added a tiny bit of comfort to the tragedy, as it confirmed that Bjarne and Daniel were both physically OK and in good hands.
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I didn't know JP, but was so crazy inspired by him, especially in the old days.
Then much later, knowing that he contributed not just with a sick segment to All.I.Can, but also elevated the entire film (storytelling, editing and all), I started to check out what he was up to. How many knew that he was quite the photographer? I mean... check his Flickr out - it's frikkin artful!https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpauclair/
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As for Andreas, early this year I sent him an e-mail asking a few stupid questions. The next morning, the phone rings, and this soft-spoken person just goes: You wrote me this interesting mail so I thought I'd better call and say thanks and see who you are... Then we started to discuss serious and silly things. Mostly serious, as you rarely got just answers from Andreas, but insights.
Most of us know JPs segments from various movies, Propaganda and Every Day Is A Saturday will always be among my favorites. But I think fewer people know about Andreas Fransson.
This is pretty telling of who he was - Happy Winter:https://vimeo.com/77959171
Watch it all - but make sure you watch a little closer at 3:38...
And then this - the Whillans Ramp from Reaching My Limit - it's... beyond words. At 2:42 the climb starts.https://vimeo.com/55676773
The man behind both these films is Bjarne Salen who, together with photographer Daniel Ronnback was also with JP and Andreas on this expedition.
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I think I stop here. Will now watch Propaganda again. Must be for the 30th time or something.
Now, be good and stay safe, y'all...
:: hkn ::
the.hellion.
Member
Super bummed. Vibes to his family and thank you for all the updates and information. Stay safe out there, kids.
JP, vous nous manquerez - merci pour tout votre contributions. ski en paix.
JP, vous nous manquerez - merci pour tout votre contributions. ski en paix.
.lencon
Active member
Has this made it to national news? I honestly think it should for all jp did for us. He had a big part in skiing and co founded armada.
On another note, did you guys see armadas INSTA post? They said no one has recovered the bodies even thought stated otherwise. Guess if they haven't recovered them there's still a slim chance they could make it out.
On another note, did you guys see armadas INSTA post? They said no one has recovered the bodies even thought stated otherwise. Guess if they haven't recovered them there's still a slim chance they could make it out.
JGWI
Active member
13154841:.Lincoln said:
News is too busy reporting on Phelps's DUI or how some football player hit his wife. If the majority of the population doesn't know who they are (Which 99% don't sadly) it wont produce any profit for them and therefore is looked past.
As slim of a chance as it is, I hope they are alright.
13154841:.Lincoln said:
Guys it's over. Even though we wish there was still a chance. Their bodies have been located by helicopter. The reason they weren't immediately recovered is that the accident occurred on the border between Chile and Argentina so there are political issues, and it's hard to access.
.lencon
Active member
13154892:AK-Pow29 said:
13154893:vinnypaz said:
13154897:DBH5601 said:
Kinda pisses me off a little bit how we care more about drunk driving and abuse rather than someone's lives. And those people who are drunk and abusive haven't really done anything for their sport like these 2 did. And yeah I'm hoping there's a way they can make it out.
Such incredibly sad news. I never met JP but he was definitely an inspiration and a pioneer.
I worked a few seasons with Andreas and his sister, Sandra, in Australia- couldn't say a bad word about him. When I did my first season back in '03 as a pasty faced teenager, I remember watching him ski and just being mind blown. Made the rest of us look like it was our first day. Skiing ability aside, he was a great bloke. Always with a smile on his face, lovely to talk to, super patient when coaching and a good personality to have around staff housing. He will be very sorely missed.
I worked a few seasons with Andreas and his sister, Sandra, in Australia- couldn't say a bad word about him. When I did my first season back in '03 as a pasty faced teenager, I remember watching him ski and just being mind blown. Made the rest of us look like it was our first day. Skiing ability aside, he was a great bloke. Always with a smile on his face, lovely to talk to, super patient when coaching and a good personality to have around staff housing. He will be very sorely missed.
.lencon
Active member
13154900:J.D. said:
Yes, they have been located. But no one has been to them. They could have just been unconscious for all we know. I might be in a small state of denial but even though there is a slim chance there is still a chance. Armadas post said nothing about the confirmation of the death so I'm still gonna believe they are alive until the bodies are recovered with no pulse.
.lencon
Active member
13154977:.Lincoln said:
Don't know why this got down voted... that is all true...
13155080:zbphoto said:
Yes, I know they did and it sucks what happened. But you are forgetting the bodies have not yet been touched by a live human being. I know the chances are slim but somehow, someway, they still could be alive.
perryhunter
Member
Thanks for the update here guys! Whatever happened to JP and his friend Andreas, let's just all PRAY! That's all their family and love ones needed now.
This is from a direct translation online, so if anything sounds weird it's not Stephane's fault but the Bing translation-thingie.
Let's just hope that media will be respectful and let the families have their time to mourn. Knowing is of course important, but at a message like this - a statement from the family - is where I draw the line.
All the good thoughts/prayers and prayers to the Auclair and Fransson families. Without a doubt, every person in the entire freeskiing world is standing by you in this tragedy.
:: hkn ::
Stephane Auclair
10 hrs - Quebec, Canada - Edited
Allo all. Sorry unable to respond to all messages or requests for info today... It was another difficult since day since early this morning, we had to deal with various sources of information (authorities Canadian, Chilean and Argentinean, insurance co., research team at the ground, Italian and Swedish contacts, etc) provided us directly or indirectly by the partial, contradictory or even incorrect information... And, through a media wave that we had not expected so soon...
However, it turns out that the body of JP and Andreas are still on the mountain and that nobody has yet been able to get close to be able to give a formal status... A team will attempt to join JP and Andreas on the mountain early tomorrow. We are aware that there is only a trickle of hope... But it is important for us that this step be completed... We know without a shadow of a doubt... Before we proceed to the following steps...
Thanks Nadia Lazzari for your support, thanks Armada Skis for complying with our pace, thanks to all our friends for moral support and to all collaborators and mountaineers who help us to see more clearly and understand what has happened. Courage Jean Auclair and all our family, to Ingrid Sirois to all your family and your friends, friends of JP and the friends and family of Andreas Fransson. Much love.
(Translated by Bing)
Let's just hope that media will be respectful and let the families have their time to mourn. Knowing is of course important, but at a message like this - a statement from the family - is where I draw the line.
All the good thoughts/prayers and prayers to the Auclair and Fransson families. Without a doubt, every person in the entire freeskiing world is standing by you in this tragedy.
:: hkn ::
Stephane Auclair
10 hrs - Quebec, Canada - Edited
Allo all. Sorry unable to respond to all messages or requests for info today... It was another difficult since day since early this morning, we had to deal with various sources of information (authorities Canadian, Chilean and Argentinean, insurance co., research team at the ground, Italian and Swedish contacts, etc) provided us directly or indirectly by the partial, contradictory or even incorrect information... And, through a media wave that we had not expected so soon...
However, it turns out that the body of JP and Andreas are still on the mountain and that nobody has yet been able to get close to be able to give a formal status... A team will attempt to join JP and Andreas on the mountain early tomorrow. We are aware that there is only a trickle of hope... But it is important for us that this step be completed... We know without a shadow of a doubt... Before we proceed to the following steps...
Thanks Nadia Lazzari for your support, thanks Armada Skis for complying with our pace, thanks to all our friends for moral support and to all collaborators and mountaineers who help us to see more clearly and understand what has happened. Courage Jean Auclair and all our family, to Ingrid Sirois to all your family and your friends, friends of JP and the friends and family of Andreas Fransson. Much love.
(Translated by Bing)
Ghini
Active member
Thanks ^
Its all difficult to follow from a distance and not knowing the area.. But I'm interested how they got in the couloir and why rescue people cant follow the same path?
To the people asking about JPs mountaineering experience, the last years he has done a lot of ski mountaineering, also with Andreas. So he was not just a legendary park guy that made one of the most epic urban segments a few years back and than he just got into this trip and followed Andreas.
Still very sad but more details do help.. Thanks for all the extra info shared guys!
Its all difficult to follow from a distance and not knowing the area.. But I'm interested how they got in the couloir and why rescue people cant follow the same path?
To the people asking about JPs mountaineering experience, the last years he has done a lot of ski mountaineering, also with Andreas. So he was not just a legendary park guy that made one of the most epic urban segments a few years back and than he just got into this trip and followed Andreas.
Still very sad but more details do help.. Thanks for all the extra info shared guys!
joesdapoes
Member
13155521:smuggs said:
Even if they survived the avalanche, they cant survive the aftermath. They would have been lying 3 days in the cold without food or water. I think its time to remember their best moments and think back on their great lives
13154901:.Lincoln said:
Micheal Phelps is undoubtably the greatest swimmer of all time, world famous, with 22 olympic medals. You saying he "[hasn't] done anything for [his] sport like these 2" is incredibly stupid. JP is a legend for us, but has certainly nowhere near the international fame and notoriety of Phelps. Furthermore, in Canada, where the guy is actually somewhat well known, the accident is being covered pretty extensively.
SamSandmire
Member
SIP JP & Andreas. So tragic.
casual
Active member
13155110:.Lincoln said:
The reason they haven't been recovered is because they are dead, so time isn't at all of the essence. It's a remote, difficult to access zone, that at least until very recently had high avy danger. These are the reasons they haven't been recovered—logistics.
The reality of these situations is that they are basically always body recoveries. If you aren't immediately dug out by your buddies, you're dead. They hovered a bird directly over top of them, close enough to confirm that they're dead. We can guess that they probably died as a result of trauma (they ostensibly came to rest on the surface as they were both spotted, so it stands to reason they died as a result of injuries as opposed to asphyxiation). It doesn't serve any of us to deny reality, though we might want to. I just feel a little bit better that they almost definitely died nearly instantly.
FelixRioux
Member
Status Update by Stephane Auclair
Quick translation from the text below;
Weather didn't allow for the geli to take off for a while, it has snowed since the accident, making the bodies harder if not impossible to locate, even more avalanches happen since. The rescue mission will start again on Saturday.
The Auclaur familly will be on their way Monday to Argentina it hopes to find the remains of their loved one.
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Allo à tous. Voici les nouvelles du jour. Ce fut malheureusement une autre journée dont le dénouement n'a pas été celui que l'on souhaitait... Tout d'abord, l'hélicoptère n'était pas disponible et prêt à décoller de Perito Moreno (village le plus proche de Monte San Lorenzo) tôt ce matin comme on nous l'avait annoncé. Mais comme la météo n'était pas clémente, ça n'a pas changé grand-chose...
En milieu d'après-midi, l'hélico a finalement été en mesure de prendre son envol vers la montagne. Mais l'équipe de secours a bord a constaté sur place qu'il avait neigé dans la nuit précédente, et que d'autres avalanches avaient eu lieu, rendant ainsi impossible la localisation des corps...
L'équipe de secours reprendra donc sa mission demain matin, et un plan B s'organise. Continuez de penser fort à JP, Andreas, et à nous SVP pour que la mission de récupération soit un succès.
Jean, Ingrid, Jacques et moi serons en route vers l'Argentine à partir de samedi prochain, et serons sur place lundi matin, afin de rencontrer les caméramans, la famille de Andreas, et, je le souhaite, pour y retrouver JP, et un peu de paix, si tout se passe bien d'ici là....
En plus d'Ingrid Sirois, de Jean Auclair, de Nadia Lazzari, de Jacques, de Claire, de Genève, et de toutes nos familles et amis, je désire remercier particulièrement Rolando Garibotti et Per As, nos correspondants italiens et suédois qui nous ont donné l'heure juste et une vision claire du déroulement des opérations, et ce, malgré qu'ils sont encore plus loin que nous du sud de l'Argentine, et qu'ils le font pour l'amour de leurs pairs et de la montagne.
Quick translation from the text below;
Weather didn't allow for the geli to take off for a while, it has snowed since the accident, making the bodies harder if not impossible to locate, even more avalanches happen since. The rescue mission will start again on Saturday.
The Auclaur familly will be on their way Monday to Argentina it hopes to find the remains of their loved one.
-----
Allo à tous. Voici les nouvelles du jour. Ce fut malheureusement une autre journée dont le dénouement n'a pas été celui que l'on souhaitait... Tout d'abord, l'hélicoptère n'était pas disponible et prêt à décoller de Perito Moreno (village le plus proche de Monte San Lorenzo) tôt ce matin comme on nous l'avait annoncé. Mais comme la météo n'était pas clémente, ça n'a pas changé grand-chose...
En milieu d'après-midi, l'hélico a finalement été en mesure de prendre son envol vers la montagne. Mais l'équipe de secours a bord a constaté sur place qu'il avait neigé dans la nuit précédente, et que d'autres avalanches avaient eu lieu, rendant ainsi impossible la localisation des corps...
L'équipe de secours reprendra donc sa mission demain matin, et un plan B s'organise. Continuez de penser fort à JP, Andreas, et à nous SVP pour que la mission de récupération soit un succès.
Jean, Ingrid, Jacques et moi serons en route vers l'Argentine à partir de samedi prochain, et serons sur place lundi matin, afin de rencontrer les caméramans, la famille de Andreas, et, je le souhaite, pour y retrouver JP, et un peu de paix, si tout se passe bien d'ici là....
En plus d'Ingrid Sirois, de Jean Auclair, de Nadia Lazzari, de Jacques, de Claire, de Genève, et de toutes nos familles et amis, je désire remercier particulièrement Rolando Garibotti et Per As, nos correspondants italiens et suédois qui nous ont donné l'heure juste et une vision claire du déroulement des opérations, et ce, malgré qu'ils sont encore plus loin que nous du sud de l'Argentine, et qu'ils le font pour l'amour de leurs pairs et de la montagne.
the.hellion.
Member
13154841:.Lincoln said:
Last night I listened to the cbc podcast as it happens and they had a whole segment on JP with Rogge. Anyway, I was super stoked to hear a segment on a great national current events program. A lot of people found out about our hero, JP.
Was just stumbling through old articles and videos of JP.. I found his ESPN Proust Questionnaire, and thought this was relevant.
How would you choose to die, if you could choose?
Hypothermia. In the mountains would be nice. But just hypothermia would be good enough. And if it's in the mountains, even better. From doing first aid classes, hypothermia seems to be the mellowest death. You get into this euphoria and don't really know what's happening. Obviously when you're freezing, the first part would not be very pleasant, but I think at the end you just go numb and a lot of people who have survived it talk about a sensation of comfort.
Sad to see him go so early, but happy to see that it was the way he wished to.
How would you choose to die, if you could choose?
Hypothermia. In the mountains would be nice. But just hypothermia would be good enough. And if it's in the mountains, even better. From doing first aid classes, hypothermia seems to be the mellowest death. You get into this euphoria and don't really know what's happening. Obviously when you're freezing, the first part would not be very pleasant, but I think at the end you just go numb and a lot of people who have survived it talk about a sensation of comfort.
Sad to see him go so early, but happy to see that it was the way he wished to.
