For reasons unknown, a group of three climbers roped up lost their footing in the Gouter couloir on their descent of Mont Blanc yesterday.

Two sustained injuries and one, their leader, succumbed to fatal injuries. Patrick Monzat, mountain guide, had over 30 years of experience, guiding throughout the alps and was a very well known heli-skier.

Witnesses at the Tete Rousse refuge below the Gouter couloir reported an avalanche, but it is unclear whether the avalanche caused the group's fall or was triggered by the fall.

The bad weather and poor visibility made a helicopter rescue impossible. Guides staying at the Tete Rousse refuge helped the PGHM locate the victims, who had fallen a couple hundred meters down the couloir.