World Notes BRITAIN

A cloudless sky and a blanket of fresh powder greeted Prince Charles and five companions last week as they set off for an afternoon of skiing at Klosters, Charles' favorite Swiss resort. His wife Diana and their sister-in-law Sarah had returned to the chalet after a morning on the slopes. Though Swiss authorities had issued an avalanche warning for altitudes higher than 5,000 ft., Charles and the group rode the lift to 7,000 ft. As they prepared to schuss off the main trails, a wall of snow broke loose and roared toward the skiers. Charles and three others narrowly avoided the cascade, but two friends ( were buried in what Charles later described as a "whirling maelstrom."

Frantically digging through the snow, Charles and the others were too late to help Major Hugh Lindsay, 34; he died of suffocation. Patricia Palmer- Tomkinson suffered two broken legs. In a handwritten statement, Charles acknowledged the danger of their adventure: "We all accepted and always have done that the mountains have to be treated with the greatest respect."