The Sunday avalanche happened in the Couloir Vesses freeride route in the upper Val Veny area near Courmayeur, on Italy’s side of the Mont Blanc massif, according to Italy’s Alpine Rescue. Officials said the incident occurred Sunday morning and involved at least three skiers.
Search and rescue efforts involved 15 rescuers, three canine units and two helicopters, Alpine Rescue said. Officials said one victim was taken to a hospital in serious condition and later died, while another skier was reported injured.
Courmayeur, the town near where the Couloir Vesses avalanche occurred, has about 2,900 inhabitants and lies about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Milan, an area hosting events for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Another person was partially buried by an avalanche in Italy’s Trentino region on Sunday morning, but was rescued by companions, authorities said.
The avalanche came amid broader warnings from Alpine Rescue about dangerous snow conditions across the Alps bordering France, Switzerland and Austria. Alpine Rescue said fresh snowfall during recent storms and wind-swept snowcaps resting on weak internal layers have created especially risky conditions.
Alpine Rescue also reported that a record 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers died in Italy over a week ending Feb. 8. The agency said 10 of those deaths were in avalanches triggered by what it described as an exceptionally unstable snowpack.
A hazardous pattern has developed along the Alpine crescent, Alpine Rescue said, pointing to instability linked to new snow and buried weak layers.