With the car on the ski slope Dangerous wrong turn in France causes horror

A driver drove his car down an open ski slope in Les Houches (F) on Sunday - a ski tourer filmed the dangerous scene. The police are investigating.

Last Sunday, a driver raced down a ski slope at high speed in Les Houches in Haute Savoie (F). The video was filmed by a skier and caused outrage.

The scene took place at around 5.45 pm. Probably in the belief that the piste was closed, a driver bypassed the safety barriers to get onto the ski slope. This behavior could have had dramatic consequences, as this part of the Les Houches ski area is open to ski tourers until 9 p.m. according to a municipal decree.

Pictures of the wrong turn were captured by a ski tourer. "The driver first drove up the slope. After a few minutes, I saw the light from his headlights through the trees and heard the engine. At that moment, as he was driving back down the slope, I decided to film him," the man explained to "Franceinfo".

"This is very dangerous behavior"

Michel Cugier, director of the Les Houches ski resort, was horrified by the action: "It made my blood run cold to see it. At this time of day, there could be dozens of ski tourers on the route. Even without ski tourers, there could have been a snow groomer, employees of the ski resort or even restaurateurs using snowmobiles on this route."

Cugier continues: "This is very dangerous behavior. At that speed and on snow, I'm not sure the driver could have avoided someone who was in his path."

Michel Cugier immediately informed the municipal administration of Les Houches, while the police in Chamonix are investigating to identify the perpetrator.