A group of seven skiers have been involved in an avalanche incident near the Envers des Aiguilles sectors of the Vallée Blanche in the Mont-Blanc mountain range. One of the skiers, completely buried, was killed by the slide. The avalanche risk was 3/5 in the area.
The avalanche occurred at 3400 meters altitude above the Requin refuge. The victim was a Slovenean national aged in his thirties. The slab avalanche was triggered by the skier himself. Completely buried he was carried 300 meters down-slope and was probably killed due to trauma.
The bodies of two missing skiers have been found in the Narreyroux valley near the ski resort of Puy St Vincent. They had been killed by an avalanche that started by the crête de la Pendine at 2750 meters. The slide took the skiers over cliffs. The search and rescue operation was complicated by poor visibility including snowfall. The skiers were a well known local guide and ski instructor, Philippe Ligerot and his client from Marseille. The avalanche risk was 3/5 at the time of the incident.
Friday 23 Jan
A 46 year old female skier was killed by an avalanche in Valloire on the Pointe des Cerces at 3000 meters altitude. Part of a team of two, both equipped with avalanche beacons, the local skier was taken by a 400 meter long slide. In Chamonix a Irish snowboard tourer was killed instantly after falling 400 meters on the north face of the Tour Ronde. He has been named as Brendan O'Sulivan. The PGHM have warned skiers that the current thin snowpack is dangerous and unforgiving.