dude, that sucks....i remember I almost snowboarded off a cliff once....
we used to joke that the ESF were immune to avalanches, they are that superior to everyone else! 
I too have observed the above schools taking large groups offpiste, often with no kit.
The more modern schools will tend to limit group sizes unlike the above mentioned.
At New Generation Tignes the most we will take off piste is 6 people and always with safety equipment. I can’t stress how important group management is like skiing one at a time and stopping out of the path of a potential slide, even if your the last skier down!
>>Last Thursday a man died in the gorges de Malpasset
Last Thursday, according to the information posted on a board at the top of the Cascade Express, the gorges de Malpasset were impassable.
you have not been able to pass the gorges all season. There is not enough snow at the moment.