Two British skiers who died in an avalanche in the French Alps have been named as Stuart Leslie, 46, and Shaun Overy, 51. The pair were part of a group of five people, accompanied by an instructor, skiing off-piste in Val d’Isère on Friday when they were swept away by falling snow.
A French national skiing alone was also killed, while another British skier survived. France’s national weather service had issued a red alert for avalanche risk on Thursday – only the third time such a warning has been given in the 25 years since the system was introduced.
Leslie, who regularly posted on social media about his skiing adventures, is believed to have been friends with Overy, who ran a plumbing company in Wimbledon. Paying tribute to Leslie, friend Craig Hunter said: “We have lost a true legend – our beautiful Stuart. He lived life to the absolute maximum – he packed 10 men’s lives into one.”
Benoît Bachelet, the Albertville prosecutor, said a manslaughter investigation had been launched. The ski instructor, who was uninjured, tested negative for drugs. This incident follows the death of another British skier in his 50s in an avalanche at the nearby La Plagne resort in January.
