Two soldiers, aged in their twenties, have been caught by a small avalanche at around 1800 meters while climbing on the west-north-west side of the Grand Colon (2394m) near to Grenoble late this afternoon. First reports are that the men were carried over 100 meters down slope in the central west couloir. The rescue services were alerted when the men failed to return, they had left their itinerary with relatives.. The rescue helicopter spotted the victims on the surface of the snow. One of the men was already dead, the other was seriously injured and transported to hospital in a critical condition.
Conditions are generally stable at present. The avalanche risk is Moderate (2/5) but there is a strong wind from the south which has formed some new windslab especially at high altitudes near ridges and cols. The biggest danger is probably from falls on very hard snow.
== Update ==
The second soldier succumbed to his injuries earlier this week.