A member of the piste services has been killed by an avalanche at Grands Montets on Friday 18th April. The victim, 26 year old Matthieu Lambert, had been securing the access to an avalanche control area with a colleague. Skiing down he triggered a small avalanche which took him over the north face of the Grands Montents. A fall of 150 meters which proved fatal
The weather conditions prevented the rescue helicopter from flying. His colleague and other pisteurs attempted to resuscitate the victim without success. It was the young pisteurs first season in Chamonix after working 5 years with the Paris fire services.
There have been 35 avalanche deaths so far this season, above the long term average. The Haute-Alpes and Savoie have seen the bulk of the incidents.