The Mont Blanc massif, all of the Savoie and the Belledonne range in the Isere are all on extreme avalanche alert tonight with a risk of 5/5 (road closures and buildings liable to be damaged). In Val d’Isere where two vehicles were buried up to their windows on the road to la Daille earlier today people in buildings at risk have been told to keep shutters closed and a number of footpaths are out of bounds.
The road between les Menuires and Val Thorens has been cut by three avalanches. One of them is 4 meters high and has hit a number of cars without injuring anyone. People are being found emergency accomodation in les Menuires tonight. The road to les Arcs is closed. In the Maurienne Bonneval and Bessans are cut off, no road, no power. In the Isere an avalanche has blocked the road at Clavans near l’Alpe d’Huez and another slide had hit the main Grenoble Briancon road at Livet et Gavet.
High winds at Geneva airport this evening where a fallen try by the autoroute was causing traffic chaos at 6pm.
I drove across the whole of the Savoy tonight and it can only be said that driving conditions were appalling. High winds and rain. Given the avalanche forecast I think the police should have been more proactive at closing access to ski resorts. The Col du Lauteret and Vars in the south have both been closed until tomorrow morning (despite the Isere highway’s dept website claiming the col is open).
