The deadly avalanche caught him on the descent.
By Ingrid Raagard
The Norwegian real estate investor Ole Martin Braathen (43, estimated assets of 300 million euros) drove up the Knödelkopf mountain last Friday with three other winter sports enthusiasts (including a snowboard guide) in the Albona ski area in Klösterle (Austria).
Ole Braathen was second on the 40-degree slope when a massive slab of snow suddenly came loose above him. The avalanche took the skier with it!
Before the masses of snow buried him completely, Ole Braathen managed to deploy the avalanche airbag backpack. As a result, his companions were able to quickly locate the emergency equipment at a depth of two meters and even dig the real estate entrepreneur out of the snow after just a few minutes. But by then the 43-year-old was already lifeless and the resuscitation attempts of an emergency doctor team that had rushed to the scene were unsuccessful.
Ole Braathen was an owner of the Norwegian family business Braathen Eiendom. The company owns and brokers real estate, manages hotels and is the largest private owner of the Barcode series in Oslo. A company spokesman confirmed the death of the entrepreneur to the Norwegian press.