The avalanche may have been caused by cross-country skiers traversing further up the slopes, the Bonneville public prosecutor’s office said at the time.
Police have launched an investigation over possible manslaughter charges following claims two cross-country skiers skiing above the mother and son could have triggered the avalanche.
Mrs Vokes had a long history of supporting the arts and youth projects in the North West of England. She was the chairman of trustees of The Oglesby Charitable Trust, a Manchester-based organisation set up by her late father. The trust donates around £3.5 million a year to help to create “thriving communities”.
She was also deputy chairman of the Royal Exchange Theatre and a trustee of the charities Shared Health and Focused Care.
Her son, one of two boys, was a personal trainer from Manchester who achieved his level 1 ski instructor qualification in Canada.
Legacy in Manchester
In the 1970s and 1980s Oglesby took advantage of Manchester’s failing economy, identifying vacant buildings that were once part of the cotton and engineering industry.
Bruntwood developed them for the burgeoning financial, media and technology industry of the 1990s and 2000s, helping the city become a cultural and business hub.
Mrs Vokes was a non-executive director at Bruntwood and had worked in retail buying and marketing before obtaining an MBA and moving into management consultancy.
Oglesby, who died aged 80 and was survived by his wife, Jean, served as a vice-president of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and chairman of the governors of the Royal Northern College of Music. He was awarded the CBE in 2011 for his services to industry and charity.
His son Chris succeeded him as chief executive of Bruntwood in 1998.
