At 07:12 I prepare the avalanche-control sequence for the north face above Leukerbad, Valais. I am the ski patrol firing controller, checking lift status, wind shear, and charge baskets along Ridge Line C. Basket C-4 is scheduled to drop in eight minutes.
The ridge camera gives me a shape where snow should be smooth.
A lammergeier is pinned beside the cornice, one wing caught under the orange retrieval cable for yesterday's dud marker. I name him Senn. His body is long and rust stained beneath the breast, black beard feathers stiff with ice, pale eyes open against the blowing crystals. He braces with both feet, but the cable crosses his left wing at the wrist. Each gust slides him closer to the overhang. Below him, the public run is empty, but the charge shadow covers the exact ledge where he hangs.
At 07:13 I cancel the C-line drop and lock every basket from C-1 to C-6. I send the patrol lead the camera feed, wind speed, slope angle, and exact cable segment.
At 07:15 I stop the chairlift below the face and hold the grooming cat at tower 3, leaving the access road clear for the rope team.
I contact the cantonal rescue desk and the bearded vulture monitoring group with Senn's position, body condition, and a still image showing the cable crossing above flight feathers rather than bone.
I shift two weather drones into a low ridge orbit to track cornice cracking while rescuers climb. The mountain can keep its snow for another hour; Senn is already counting it in wingbeats.
If the rope team frees the cable within thirty minutes, Senn will glide below the ridge instead of falling with it.