A 54-year-old man lost his life, buried under an avalanche, Sunday, above the Vallorcine station and the village of Buet (Haute-Savoie). The victim from Haute-Savoie " was found in cardio-respiratory arrest during an avalanche reconnaissance in an off-piste area and could not be resuscitated," said the High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) from Chamonix.
Given the significant accumulations of fresh snow blown since the beginning of the week, the estimate of the risk of avalanches was high (level 4 out of 5) in the Alps, for the Aravis, Chablais, Mont-Blanc and Bauges.
Avalanche releases are likely even with low overload on many slopes due to the presence of fragile wind slabs, said the prefecture of Haute-Savoie.