across the mountains this season so far, according to the European Avalanche Warning Services – a ballpark figure not seen for eight years.

 As our pilot throws his rescue helicopter over one of the jagged ridges below us, we see ant-like skiers queueing at lifts or weaving down various pistes. There is an enthralling beauty about the dense snow that sits atop the Tarentaise, an imposing network of valleys here in the heart of the French Alps. "As with all around the world, the climate is changing", says Frédéric Bonnevie, our guide and a mountain patroller for 32 years. He points to shorter winters, and the best powder now being found at a higher altitude.

And although thick, this season's snow covering has been unstable, contributing to a steep rise in the number of people killed by alpine avalanches. Bonnevie explains they can control the conditions on the pistes, but not off them, and that's where skiers have been getting into perilous difficulties. "A lot of the victims are skiers who come here often, are technically skilled, but aren't necessarily connoisseurs of the mountain environment", suggests Stéphane Bornet, the director of Anena, a French snow safety association. Several, he says, didn't have safety kits, such as a transceiver to reveal their location or a shovel. Bornet claims they also didn't carry out basic research on the routes they wanted to take.

The statistics are sobering; if you're carrying a transceiver there is a 70% chance you'll survive an avalanche, according to emergency crews. The first 16 minutes after being buried are seen as crucial. If you don't have one, the rescue operation can take longer, needing dozens of people and more equipment, and the survival rate drops to 20%. (BBC)