At 13h30 I witnessed an important rescue operation in the Col du Coq sector of the Chartreuse. A police landrover with a montoneige, a Berlingo and later a mountain rescue kangoo arrived at the scene. I was not skiing but just in the area taking a look (from a safe distance) at some full depth avalanches on the slopes above the road.

The rescue services had been called to an avalanche in the Col des Ayes sector where three men, aged in the 50s, had been buried. Equipped with avalanche beacons their bodies were recovered during the afternoon.

There was a lot of snow transport (s -> n) in the area and rising temperatures. The men had set out from Perquelin and where at the level of the Col des Ayes when a slab of 25x50m carried them into trees.

Terrible, sad news.  Yesterday our group got to about 10 metres from the summit of the Dome de Pravouta at about 11.00 am (from the SW face using the trees as protection) but we decided to turn back due to the strong transport of snow and deteriorating weather conditions. The snow had been completely blown from the west-facing slopes below the Dent de Crolles and there were accumulations everywhere. While performing an practise ARVA search further down the mountain we saw the Helico at about 12.00 and feared the worst. 

Does anyone have any more information about this avalanche? What was the gradient of the slope? Was it actually on the Pravouta or further down.  Obviously this has scared the **** out of me and I would like to learn as much as possible about this tragic accident.

It is always heartbreaking when we hear that those who share our passions have become victims of the mountains. Condolences to their families ...

Hi

The accident happened on the ENE facing slopes under the Dome de Pravouta (pt 1760m) between the summer trail that leads from the Col des Ayes and the Col de Pravouta and the Col des Ayes -> Perquelin trail, about 100m north of the col. Those slopes are in the 30 degree range, a bit steeper in places. Here is the approx grid for you: 05.50.27E, 45.18.40N

Also note the passage in the book “Ski Alpinisme, 89 randonnees autour de Grenoble (Bonfort/Shashahani)” :- “if you are unsure about the snow pack, do not go as far as the Col des Ayes but climb directly in the forest to the summit”. This obviously concerns the south-east face of the Dome de Pravouta more than the route in question but the Col des Ayes always has a big corniche and I’ve always hurried passed those slopes as fast as possible.

It appears the men were climbing towards the Dome de Pravouta on the ENE slope rather than going to the Col des Ayes then climbing the SE facing slopes. It was a smallish avalanche.

Fred Jarry’s research on multiple burials seems relevant to both this incident and the one earlier in the season in Bessans.

http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0831-multiple-burials-revisited/

Meteo France/Anena put out the following information on Friday

The cocktail of windslab and fine weather scheduled for this Saturday promises to be explosive, specialists call for back country travelers to exercise utmost caution for this weekend. “Every winter there are three or four episodes with are particularly dangerous in the mountains. Our fear is that the good weather and fresh snow will encourage skiers to head into the high mountains while the risks of slab avalanches are really important”, explained Dominique Letang, director of the Anena (National Agency for the Study of Snow and Avalanche Research), based in Grenoble.

During one week there have been four successive snow episodes. An initial drop from 30 to 50 cm last Friday, a second of about twenty cm on Sunday night, another major fall Monday, then the rainfall yesterday. At 1000 meters, the accumulation is more than one meter. A phenomenon that has added a first episode of foehn that caused significant accumulations, particularly on the northern slopes near ridges. The third component of the cocktail, the intense cold and north winds again today (Friday 3rd Dec) which will slow the cohesion of the snow pack. The isotherm -10 C ° is expected at 1500 m this morning. “We are in a configuration where extreme caution is required off-piste on slopes greater than 30°, and more particularly close to ridges,” says Captain Jean-Pierre Mirabail, second in command of Isere PGHM. According to Dominique Létang of the Anena, the avalanche danger is be 3 to 4 depending on the sector for this Saturday.

Note that the major concern was for Saturday rather than Sunday.

Thanks for the extra information.
Maybe see you on Chamchaude one time?
David.