French Ski Champion Adèle Milloz Dies at Age 26 After Falling in the Alps
Adele Milloz/Instagram Adèle Milloz
Adèle Milloz, a 26-year-old former ski mountaineering champion, fell to her death while training in the Alps to be a mountain guide, according to multiple reports.
The Times in the U.K. said Milloz was climbing toward the Aiguille summit in the Mont Blanc range of the French Alps at the time of the fall, along with a second woman, 30, who also died. Officials, who were alerted to the accident by another group of mountaineers who saw them fall, said they believe the women were roped together.
The outlet said that per a police source, the incident is being investigated and that the cause of the accident is so far unknown. They have ruled out a rockfall as the cause.
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Adele Milloz/Facebook Adèle Milloz
The two women are believed to have been roped together when they fell, the outlet reported. Officials said that the route that Milloz was on is not considered "particularly difficult," but recent droughts in the area have made hiking in the Alps more dangerous.
The French Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing released a statement on Saturday confirming Milloz's death, writing in French that they "will always miss her smile."
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The Times explained that ski mountaineering, or skimo, will be included in the 2026 winter Olympics for the first time. The sport involves climbing up a mountain before skiing down it.
Before leaving ski mountaineering in 2019 to become a guide, Milloz had won junior championships and joined the French team at age 15. She won the European sprint championship in 2018, the Times said.
