With the return to better weather Météo France has warned of a high avalanche risk above 3300 meters in the Alps where over a meter of snow has fallen in some areas over the last 48 hours coupled with moderate to strong winds from the north.
The High-Mountain Office in Chamonix has reported 60cm of fresh snow at the Cosmiques refuge and 70cm at the Goûter refuge at 3800 meters. Summer avalanches at high altitude are not uncommon, there have already been two fatal avalanches on the Mont-Blanc at the end of July killing five climbers in total. Climbers should take care on any high altitude routes over the coming days.