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Widow blames ski firm over death of husband trapped for 16 hours
Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent20 Oct 2009
The death of a solicitor whose body was trapped under snow for 16 hours could have been prevented if holiday representatives had acted more quickly, his widow claims.
Father-of-four Stephen Gladman, known by his middle name Martin, was on the third day of a family skiing holiday in France with his wife and sons when he died in February 2007.
The 47-year-old of Penn, Buckinghamshire, who was described as a competent skier, stumbled off-piste in poor visibility and fell into a hole, causing a mini-avalanche of snow to cascade in after him.
Marion Gladman, who had been taking skiing lessons along with her sons, raised the alarm after her husband failed to meet them at midday for lunch and could not be contacted on his mobile phone.
She called a holiday representative for Thomson Ski just under 90 minutes later, and found that the woman, named as Laura, was drinking in a bar at another resort.
All the company's representatives for the La Plagne resort had a day off that day, an inquest at Amersham coroner's court, Buckinghamshire, heard.
Mrs Gladman said: "I explained the situation and Laura tried to reassure me, and said Martin would be in a bar enjoying a drink or stuck on the other side of the mountain.
"Her advice was just to go out with the boys and not waste their afternoon. I remember her saying: 'Don't let it spoil the afternoon'."
Mrs Gladman, a nurse, was told her husband had probably lost his mobile phone, and was advised to call Laura again at 4.30pm.
When she did so, the piste patrol was contacted, but said they had no records of any injuries on the slopes that day.
The slopes could not be searched until the ski runs closed for the day.
It was only after Mr Gladman's ski pass records were examined that the search was narrowed to the Les Colosses area, where he had caught a chair lift at 9.41am. His body was found in a hole there, with his face and upper body covered with snow, at 2.30am the next morning.
Pathologists could not be certain if Mr Gladman, whose fingertips were blue and showing signs of frostbite, died from hypothermia, suffocation or both.
Mrs Gladman said her husband probably took a lesser-used path because of the number of ski school pupils using the other trail. Coroner Richard Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death.Mrs Gladman, whose sons are now aged 10, 13, 15 and 18, is taking legal action against TUI UK, the parent company of Thomson Ski.
Solicitor Stephen Muscatt said: "Our concern about the incident is that when Mrs Gladman raised the alarm that her husband was missing, she wasn't taken seriously. The family's frustrations lie in that, had they acted, he might have been saved."
Reader views (7)
Sad, but the fault is her own. She should have called the Gendarmerie right away, not the holiday rep. There is a well-practised search and rescue system which responds very quickly. If there had been a fire in the hotel, would she have called the tour rep then? No, she would have called the fire-brigade.
- David Chown, bordeaux france, 21/10/2009 06:14
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Just to clarify to the above comment, Mr Gladman was skiing on-piste! It is also not possible to have a ski buddy with you at all times whilst on the slopes and the weather can change for the worst in a very short space of time.
- J West, Bucks, 20/10/2009 23:31
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whilst it is a terrible loss and I feel for the family, I think it is unfair to blame the rep. The wife would of been aware it was her day off and there are many other points of contact around the slopes where she could of reported her concern for her husband.
- Micks, London, 20/10/2009 21:20
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"Missing Persons" reports are only taken seriously, after just a short period of time as in this case, when there are children or infirm adults involved. If there is no other indicator of trouble, adults are generally credited time by authorities to act according to whim that is not necessarily known to those worrying about them. I fail to see what the holiday firm should have done about this no matter how much the family needs someone to blame, an entirely human response. A frequently disappointed optimist, I still choose to disregard 'cashing in' as a motive in this undoubted tragedy.
- Rogan, Irving, 20/10/2009 18:46
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My thoughs go out to the family, a tragic loss. Avalanches and variable terrain are all exposure elements of skiing, that can be minimised through experience and gear. If the alarm had been raise immediately via Thomson Ski or through a direct call to Pisteurs, the situation will have still been grave, as at 90min of burial there is under 20% chance of survival - and that is assuming they are dug out after 90min.
- Fraser, NZ, 20/10/2009 16:44
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Unfortunately this gentleman should not have been skiing off-piste on his own
- Hunter, London, 20/10/2009 11:53
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A tragedy yes, but "The slopes could not be searched until the ski runs closed for the day." The story does not mention what safety equipment Mr Gladman was wearing. Did he have transponders in his clothing which would have helped rescuers find him more quickly. Skiing in poor visibility is dangerous and should not be done alone. It does not appear that the Rep or the rescue services did anything wrong here.
- Dannyp, Egham, 20/10/2009 10:00
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