From Evolène proper (at 1371 m altitude) to Les Haudères (1454 m) and further up to Arolla (2006 m), the valley, situated between Zermatt and Verbier, is a rather little-known tourist destination.
Then, at 8:30 PM, at a breadth of about 4 km, between the mountain tops of Sasseneire and Pointe du Tsaté, the snow cover ruptured and sled downhill.
The snow masses being canalized by several gulleys, the avalanche flowed along the Borza stream and killed nine people on the valley floor at about 1400 m – five in the chalet "Théodoloz" at La Confraric, and two each in a car.
[1] At the center of the criminal procedures stood the question of who was responsible for estimating the avalanche danger, if the town's emergency plans and precautions were sufficient, and why no evacuations and no road closures took place.
Mountain guide André Georges, who was in charge of security in the village, was given a suspended sentences of two months and fined Swiss Francs 30,000.