French businessman Guillaume Mulliez has been killed by an avalanche close to Mont Thabor in the Savoie close to the border with the Hautes-Alpes department on Monday 13th March 2023. Mulliez is part of the family that set up and runs the Decathlon sports stors as well as the Auchan hypermarket chain.
Mr Mulliez was part of a group of three ski tourers who climbing at the time under the NE slopes of the Gringoil peak (2638 meters). Another member of the group was also caught but escaped without injury. The slide broke over a large area under cliffs on what appears to be a generalized weak layer (secondary avalanche under the nearby col) at 2500 meters altitude. The avalanche bulletin for the day warned of a Persistent Weak Layer in the sector. The risk was Considerable (3/5) above 2200m on account of considerable fresh snowfall accompanied by winds which had formed new slabs. Slabs could be large, size 3 or 4 and up to 1 meter deep with the risk particuarly on North and East aspects.