Avalanche has hit Val thoren/Les menuires

From Kees Wolthoorns facebook page just now....

Avalanche sur la route de Val Thorens avec 2 voitures ensevelies, Les Menuires coupés du monde au niveau de Praranger, route coupée entre Albertville et Moûtiers, Télépreyerand, ascenseurs Brelin et navettes inter-quartiers à l'arrêt, personnes montant à Val Thorens, coincées aux Menuires, et qui vont dormir au Centre Sportif cette nuit, électricité qui danse au rythme des rafales de vent, ordre absolu de ne pas sortir de sa résidence : c'est l'apocalypse aux Menuires ! ! ! !

Google translation to English....

Avalanche on the road to Val Thorens with 2 cars buried, the Les Menuires cut off from the world at the level of Praranger, road cut from Albertville to Moutiers, Telepreyerand, lifts Brelin and shuttles inter-neighborhoods at the judgment, people amount to Val Thorens, stuck in Les Menuires, and who will sleep at the Sports Center that night, electricity which dance to the rhythm of the wind gusts, absolute order not to leave his residence: this is the apocalypse to Les Menuires! ! ! !

Hope anyone who was caught up in this is ok....

That will be why they issued the below this afternoon then, "Updated: Thursday, January 5, 2011 at 17:00.

The road between Les Menuires and Val Thorens is temporarily closed. The Special Equipment Required remain throughout the Belleville Valley from Moutiers."

Why is there all these Avalanches being reported? There is no where near as much snow as we witnessed a couple of weeks back that was also accompanied by very high winds?

Its because the snow has fallen on ground that wasnt cold enough, and temps have varied greatly.
Makes things very unstable.

BUt when we had that first dump of snow that was falling on ground that was not overly cold as a few days before people were grass skiing?

If there is a layer of ice, the new snow will not bond easily to it, and as we all know, ice is very slippery...

I've been reading some French pages and it sounds like the wind has been extreme to say the least!
Considerable damage across the whole alpine region.
Val D'Isere has big problems - roads closed, reports of 2 cars caught in an avalanche and people being warned they may have to evacuate their apartments.
Zermatt is cut off - most snow since 1999 is the quote.
Lots of electricity failure, rock slides, train de-railment etc.

Actually glad I'm not out there! I've been stuck in a ski resort in very extreme weather a couple of times and it is very scary.

Thoughts, fingers crossed etc.

Can't take long for supplies to start running out!.

100kph winds overnight in parts of the alps tonight won't help.