http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7086709.ece

We went over the the Benevolo hut in the Val de Rhemes to escape bad weather in Chamonix with the intention of skiing the Poletta a nice peak behind the hut. Got warned off by the Guardien who said there had been a serious accident the previous week. Link to the Times report above which also states that in Italy “avalanches have claimed the lives of 41 off-piste skiers and four members of a rescue team. The mounting toll has prompted the government to start drafting a “snow code” to regulate skiing off-piste”

Ironically, they, like us, were in the Gran Paradiso area to avoid the high avalanche risk in the Chamonix valley.