According to the Dauphiné Liberé 3 people were killed in avalanches on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Val d’Aosta (Courmayeur is on the Chamonix ski pass) and Trentin-Haut-Adige.
Two died in the sector of Trentin-Haut-Adige ... a corporal in the ‘Chasseurs Alpins’ military named Matteo Stefani, 28 and was found under 2 metres of snow. Alert had been given by his partner, and they had been on a ski randonée after having spent the night in a refuge (unnamed by Dauphiné). An Italian vacationer 29 years old named Paolo Vincenzetti also died, though the avalanche situation was not described. He was skiing with 2 friends who were uninjured. The third victim was a 44 year old Czech tourist from Prague who had been heli skiing with a guide named Nicola Garradi in the Val d’Aoste. The group was dropped on a summit around 3000m. It was described as a plaque a dozen of metres wide which gave way under the victim’s feet. He died though he was rapidly pulled from the avalanche by his guide - a doctor was present quickly but could not revive him.
Reading the Italian media reports (as best I can) have found there were also 2 injured in avalanches in Italy on the same day.
The refuge for the ski tourer (Matteo Stefani) who died was rifugio Monte Elmo above Sesto (near the border of Austria in the Friuli region) according to Italian news sites. He was pulled alive from the avalanche but died later in hospital.
Paolo Vincenzetti died in the region near Trento in Paganella near the zone known as Dosso Larici. However the Italian reports described him as a walker, and mentioned that 3 skiers gave alert when they saw that 3 walkers had been swept away. Avalanche dogs were brought in to search. Two others were buried but escaped with light injuries, while the dead man had suffered a heart attack and was without life when he was discovered.
A third avalanche in the region resulted in an injury but no deaths - Alto Adige, near the rifugio Gallo Cedrone, at 2.370 on Sesto Pusteria. Two skiers were together, one escaped and the other was buried but was rescued by a team brought in by an Italian and an Austrian helicopter.
The deadly Val d’Aosta avalanche was described by Italian media as having been in Valtournenche on Monte Roisetta. They also mentioned a 4th avalanche was reported to Italian emergency services by four ski tourers in Flassin (Saint-Oyen), near the Grand Saint Bernard pass, but rescuers did not find any victims.
Avalanche risk was reported to be 3 out of 5
