Facing the ghosts of a freak mountain storm
It was late 2000 when Josep Maria Vilá and his fiancé set out for a gentle trek in the Pyrenees. In the blink of an eye, a freak storm would turn his world upside down.
It was the last day of the year 2000 when a young Josep Maria Vilá, his fiancé and three friends set out for a leisurely hike up a Pyrenees mountain under clear blue skies. Suddenly, a freak storm threw their lives into chaos and they became separated in the blinding whiteout and hurricane winds.
The next few days would bring Josep to the brink of death as he battled an avalanche, extreme cold and being buried alive. It would become known as one of Spain’s worst climbing accidents ever and despite escaping with his life it would take him the next 20 years to face down the ghosts of the mountain that haunted him.
Josep Maria Vilá was speaking to Outlook's Clayton Conn. The book about the tragedy is called Viento Salvaje: Balandrau. Crónica de una Tragedia en los Pirineos by Jordi Cruz, and the documentary is Balandrau, Frozen Hell directed by Guille Cascante.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producers: June Christie and Edgar Maddicott
Interpreter: Martin Esposito
Photo: Josep Maria Vilá (far right) with his companions on Baladrau, December 2000. Credit: Photo courtesy of Josep Maria Vilá
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