A busy day for the Chamonix PGHM mountain rescue teams this Sunday, the 29th January, with the first call coming in at 09:00 from the Brevent ski area. Pisteurs doing their morning checks discovered a body on the Bozon black run whihc starts at the top of the Brevent cable car. It is not known whether the person was a skier or a walker and an enquiry has been opened as to why and how the person was on the mountain after dark. 

Brevent officials say the piste basher passed during the evening of Saturday on the piste. As yet now more details have been released.

At around 16:00 PGHM received a call from skiers on the Couloir Cosmiques below the Aiguille du Midi who had witnessed an avalanche. A group of four skiers were heading down the couloir at the foot of the Glacier Rond when of the group was caught in an avalanche. He was wearing an avalanche transceiver. Despite the low cloud and fog, the two PGHM helicopters took to the air for the search, with the witnesses able to give fairly precise details on where the avalanche happened.

At 18:00 the body of the skier in his 30s was recovered, after two hours buried under the avalanche. The rest of the group were repatriated back to the valley.

PGHM rescuers were also called out to two different groups on the Vallee Blanche lost in the fog. Rescue parties set off on foot and one group was found at 17:30 and led to safety, but the second group was still classed as missing last night. Telephone conversations between rescuers and the lost skiers indicated that the group were on the Mer de Glace.

More details as we get them. Stay safe out there!