BERLIN—Two climbers were killed Friday and nine others injured by falling blocks of ice in the Alps in southern Switzerland, police said. Police in Valais canton (state) were alerted shortly after 6 a.m. to the accident in the Grand-Combin massif. Seven rescue helicopters were dispatched. Seventeen climbers, in different groups, were in the area when…

Fossils from some of the largest creatures ever to swim Earth’s oceans—whale-sized marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs—have been found in a counterintuitive place: atop three mountains in the Swiss Alps up to 8,990 feet above sea level. Scientists on Thursday described rib and vertebrae fossils from two ichthyosaur individuals: one about 69 feet long and the…

VIENNA—Authorities in Austria warned Saturday of “considerable” risk of avalanches in the west of the country after nine people were killed within 24 hours. Police said eight people died in three separate incidents in the states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol on Friday. In one avalanche near the Austrian-Swiss border, four Swedish citizens and their Austrian…

French actor Gaspard Ulliel, known for appearing in Chanel perfume ads and portraying fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in a 2014 biopic, has died at 37 following a ski accident in the Alps, French media reported on Wednesday. Ulliel, who won a French Cesar award for best actor for his role in “It’s Only the…

A five-year-old British girl has been killed in a collision on a ski slope in the Alps, according to French media. The girl was one of five children taking part in a ski lesson in Flaine, in the Haute-Savoie region of France, when she was “violently” struck by another skier who lost control on Saturday…

LE GRAND-BORNAND, France—Tadej Pogacar wagged his head and grinned, his blond hair slick from sweat and rain, his cheeks ruddy from the mountain cold and a colossal effort from smashing his remaining rivals at the Tour de France. As he cooled down on the stationary bike, the defending champion seemed to have even surprised himself….

STRESA, Italy—Italy’s transport minister vowed Monday to establish the cause of a cable car disaster that killed 14 people, after the lead cable apparently snapped and the cabin careened back down the mountain until it came off the line and crashed to the ground. The lone survivor of Sunday’s horrific incident, a 5-year-old Israeli boy…

In every sound of the violin there is the breathing of its trees. —Antonio Stradivari, luthier The story of the world’s greatest violins begins in the musical woods nearly 400 years ago. Standing high atop the Italian Alps, at an altitude of over 5,575 feet, the magical spruce trees grow very slowly. Having endured the…

When a hiker slipped and broke his ankle in the remote foothills of the Italian Alps, his loyal canine companion refused to leave his side for seven days and nights in the freezing cold. The hiker credits the mixed-breed pup for saving his life. The unnamed 33-year-old from Trieste, Italy, was hiking with his dog, Ash,…