An avalanche triggered by a serac collapse has killed two skiers in the Grands Mulets sector of Mont Blanc. An additional skier was injured by the slide. The avalanche occured around 4h30. Ice blocks fell from the Dôme du Goûter which triggered a slide that traversed the Petit and Grand Plateau.
The victims were a couple of Germans aged in their 50s. They were found using their avalanche beacons buried under about 150cm of snow. There had already been a large serac fall on the 10th April 2023, fortunately without victims but the Chamoniarde had issued the following warning on the 15th April
The ascent of Mont Blanc from the Grands Mulets hut started with a bang. As announced in our last update, the Jonction can be crossed quite well, the route by the Plateaux is in good conditions (crevasses are bridged) but the seracs remain. The proof is in the huge serac fall that swept the whole of the small Plateau and the climbing route on Monday morning, miraculously no groups present at that time. The N ridge of the Dôme was climbed by the left side of the ridge to avoid the ice (5 m of ice on the way out). It is certainly longer and more technical but "safety has a price". Access to the summit was via the couloirs (again, a serac fall was reported) and via the Bosses ridge. The N face was skied (concrete snow on the top).
A little reminder to the aspirants: Mont Blanc on skis is a serious undertaking and you have to be "strong": it's long and high, the objective risks are important (crevasses, seracs...), it's cold: you have to be prepared physically and psychologically!
Info sécurité Mont Blanc à ski par les Grands Mulets - La Chamoniarde