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MONT BLANC

Another climber killed on France’s Mont Blanc

A mountain climber was found dead on Mont Blanc Friday, police said, a day after three other people lost their lives on Europe's highest peak.

Published: 4 August 2018 14:52 CEST
Another climber killed on France's Mont Blanc
Photo: AFP

The climber, who was with a companion, was killed in a rock fall that occurred around 9:00 am (0800 GMT) near the Giant's Tooth — a spectacular precipice that rises to over 4,000 metres (13,130 feet), police in the Chamonix region said.

According to local news reports, the dead climber owned a mountaineering equipment company based in a town near Chamonix. On Thursday, three French climbers died on Mont Blanc when they fell down a crevasse while descending the peak.

Mont Blanc is crawling with climbers during the summer months, and at least 12 people are known to have died on the mountain since the climbing season began, which tops out at 4,810 metres.  

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WEATHER

Mountaineer dies on Europe’s Mont Blanc despite rescue attempts

A French mountaineer died close to the summit of Mont Blanc on Friday after rescuers made several attempts to get to him in a violent storm.

Published: 31 July 2021 13:30 CEST
Mountaineer dies on Europe's Mont Blanc despite rescue attempts
A picture taken from a helicopter on August 7th, 2020 shows the Planpincieux glacier of the Grandes Jorasses, on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif, with the Courmayeur village in the background, Val Ferret, northwestern Italy.  Andrea BERNARDI / AFP

The man, in his forties, was climbing Europe’s highest peak when he lost his way and got stuck at 4,800 metres (15,700 feet), assailed by “the storm, the wind, the cold,” rescuer André-Vianney Espinasse told AFP.

He called for help on Thursday evening.

Several helicopters attempted to rescue him but couldn’t get to him due to the weather, Espinasse said.

As a result, one helicopter dropped rescuers off lower down, at 3,200 metres, forcing them to climb the rest of the way at night.

At two in the morning, after reaching a refuge and waiting for the weather to ease, they climbed further into heavy winds.

They found the man some two hours later, suffering from severe hypothermia.

But “at 5.30, in awful winds, the mountaineer suffered a cardiac arrest,” said Espinasse.

A fresh attempt by a helicopter to lift the victim off the mountain failed once again due to the high winds.

The rescuers then decided to leave the body and get out of “this extremely dangerous area”.

A rescue helicopter from neighbouring Italy eventually managed to lift the body off the mountain.

“Going solo on high mountains should really be avoided due to all the dangers involved,” Espinasse said.

Mont Blanc is between the regions of Aosta Valley in Italy and Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France

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