Tragically, two career skiers have died after falling thousands of feet down a mountain in northern Italy. Elisa Arlian, a 27-year-old speed skiing competitor from the Italian national team, and her boyfriend Jean Daniel Pession, fell from a spot near the summit of Monte Zerbion in the Alps while traversing a familiar route.
The circumstances surrounding their deadly fall were unclear as both Pession and Arlian fell almost 2,300 feet from Monte Zerbion. Recovery crews worked tirelessly to find the couple, who were still linked together by a safety rope that mountaineers often use while climbing. It took several hours for them to be found.
The Italian Winter Sports Federation expressed deep sorrow over the tragic accident, noting Pession’s impressive performance record at the World Cup. Local government officials in Aosta Valley, where the mountain is located and where Pession is from, mourned their deaths and offered condolences to the families of the couple.
President Flavio Roda and the entire Federation extended their sympathies to the Pession family in a statement. The Regional Council of Aosta Valley also acknowledged Pession and Arlian’s deaths, describing it as a moment of profound sadness for all those involved in skiing communities across Italy.
