On November 30th, two Italian skiers, Edoardo Camardella and Luca Martini, were off-piste on the Italian side of the Mont-Blanc massif when an avalanche swept them away.
A fellow skier witnessed the accident and alerted the authorities, who rushed to the scene via helicopters but were unable to save the two men.
On 30 November 2019, around 10 am, the two friends took the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car from Courmayeur and were skiing off-piste under Punta Helbronner (3,466 m or 11,371 ft altitude).
According to Le Dauphine, about 500 m (1,640 ft) below Punta Helbronner, between the Giant Pass and the Tassotti Pass, a strong avalanche swept them away.
Alerted by a fellow skier who witnessed the accident near the Pointe Helbronner peak, the authorities arrived as soon as possible but, unfortunately, were unable to save the two men (The Independent).
The avalanche risk has been announced
According to the ARP Avalanche report, the Courmayeur area had warned off-piste skiers to be cautious when going off marked trails.
More than 1.5 m (5 ft) of snow has fallen a few days before the accident, and 50 cm (1.64 ft) just on the 29th of November, the day before the avalanche happened.
The avalanche risk bulletin indicated high risks due to, among other things, significant instability.
The two men were ski instructors
Edoardo Camardella (28) and Luca Martini (32) were both ski instructors and recognized freeride ski specialists.
According to Le Dauphine, the two Italian were living in Chamonix.
