Avalanche in Taconnaz
At approximately 12.30pm today a large avalanche broke from up near the Dome du Goutier (Mont Blanc side) and slid some 3000 vertical meters down the mountain before coming to rest just above the village of Taconnaz, near Les Bossons. A well know avalanche couloir, the extensive barriers and channels constructed in the area meant that the slide was slowed and contained before it engulfed any of the nearby houses and no casualties have been reported. The large chunks of blue ice visible in the heavy snow slide indicated that it had started well up the Taconnaz Glacier and had brought down some of the seracs in its wake.
The last big slide in the area was 1999 when an enormous powder avalanche broke from the same spot and completely over ran the 20m high stone barriers set to block its path. That year the snow continued down and destroyed two houses and a large area of forest, fallen trees that can still be seen today. More work is planned this summer to extend the avalanche protection in this particular area.
There are currently 120 avalanche “hot spots” mapped out in the valley that are always top priority to secure after heavy snowfall. Discussions have been underway as to whether this plan should be re-assessed since the terrible avalanche in Montroc in 1999 that killed 12 people. The area where the chalets were engulfed by the slide was not marked as being at risk, hence why the area was not evacuated.
