Swiss Mountain Guide Convicted of Negligent Homicide Following 2023 Avalanche That Killed Colorado and British Teens

A Swiss mountain guide has been convicted of multiple counts of negligent homicide following an avalanche that killed two 18-year-old students during a ski tour near Meiringen, Switzerland, in March 2023.

The Oberland Regional Court in Thun sentenced the guide to a conditional fine of 150 daily rates of CHF 90 ($110), totaling CHF 13,500 ($17,400), with a two-year probationary period. A second guide who accompanied the group and served as a tour leader at the École d’Humanité boarding school was acquitted.

The verdict, delivered Friday, August 14, is not yet final. Both sides have 10 days to appeal.



Related: Swiss Mountain Guides Face Trial Over 2023 Avalanche That Killed Two Students



The case stems from an avalanche on March 21, 2023, at Gstelliwang near Meiringen, when American student Emily Franciose and British student Archie Harvey were swept away during the second descent of a guided ski tour. Both teenagers were members of a 12-person ski touring group from the École d’Humanité, an international boarding school in Hasliberg. The avalanche carried the two students over a several-hundred-meter-high rock face, killing both.

At the time of the accident, the Swiss avalanche danger level was 2 (moderate), but the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) had warned of a persistent weak layer in the old snowpack, particularly on steep north-facing slopes above approximately 2,200 meters (7,218 feet).

The court’s decision centered on the difference between the group’s first and second descents. The first descent had largely avoided the steepest terrain and was completed without incident. On the second descent, however, the mountain guide selected a route that led the group into a significantly steeper section of the slope. According to court president Jan Grunder, video footage clearly showed the difference between the two routes. The second route effectively invited participants to ski into the steep slope, with the avalanche path extending toward the exposed terrain below.

The court found that the mountain guide had crossed the boundary of what constitutes an acceptable level of risk in the mountains.

The court largely followed an expert assessment from the SLF, which concluded that the guide’s on-site observations and snow tests were insufficient to rule out the danger posed by the persistent weak layer. The absence of obvious warning signs such as cracking or “whumpfing” was also not enough to establish that the slope was safe.

The court said the guide should have prevented the students from entering the steepest terrain. A more conservative route, a clearly defined skiing corridor or having participants descend individually could all have reduced the risk. “The permitted risk has been exceeded,” Grunder said.

The court nevertheless emphasized that the guide’s actions represented a misjudgment rather than intentional wrongdoing.

The defense had argued that the tour was carefully planned and that there is no such thing as zero avalanche risk in the mountains. The guide also maintained that he had seen no significant difference between the first and second descents and had not observed obvious signs of instability.

The court reached a different conclusion regarding the co-guide, finding that he could not be held criminally responsible for the deaths. Although the second guide had a say in the tour, the court determined that primary responsibility for route selection and avalanche assessment rested with the more highly trained mountain guide. The co-guide was therefore entitled to rely on the professional judgment of the lead guide. The court also found that it could not be established that intervention by the co-guide would necessarily have resulted in a different route choice.

The convicted guide must also pay CHF 20,000 ($25,800) plus interest to each victim’s parents, along with legal and procedural costs for the private plaintiffs. Total legal costs are estimated at more than CHF 50,000 ($64,000).

Following the verdict, Emily Franciose’s mother, Susan Franciose, said the family had never been motivated by financial compensation. “No one wanted her death,” she said, describing what happened as “very sad.”

Since her death, the family has continued fundraising for charitable projects Emily had begun before her death. “She had such a positive impact on the lives of many people,” Susan Franciose described her daughter.

The family of Archie Harvey did not provide a statement.

For the families of Emily and Archie, however, the legal proceedings ultimately cannot change what happened on the mountain more than three years ago but will hopefully bring some form of closure after the devastating loss of their children.



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