Five men died between Wednesday and Friday in the Alps. Rescue workers have warned against mountaineering and hiking in the current weather conditions.
Bloody weekend in the mountains. No less than five mountaineers or hikers have died in the Alps, in the Mont-Blanc massif since Wednesday. Italian and French emergency services have called for strong vigilance in the region.
Those from Val d’Aosta explained that they had intervened on Wednesday with a mountaineer who fell at an altitude of 2,800 m on the Miage glacier. “The alert was given by his companions who saw him slip into a ravine. The climber died, his comrades were unhurt,” added the emergency services.
On Thursday, a Taiwanese man aged around thirty died at an altitude of over 3,000 m on the Aiguille du Midi, according to the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM). The same day, in the evening, a Polish man died in the Couloir du Goûter. A Czech national died in the area of the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, south of the Mont Blanc massif, said the captain of the Savoie High Mountain Gendarmerie, Stéphane Narbaud. Finally, on Friday, a hiker was found on a grassy slope in Haute-Maurienne.
Risky practices
Captain Stéphane Narbaud warned of the dangers of high mountain activities in a context of heavy snow. “We have seen a lot of accidents in recent days because there has been heavy snowfall at altitude this winter and there is still a significant amount of snow at over 2,000 meters,” he said. “It blocks some of the trails. When trying to get around them, people get lost and slip.”
At the same time, the Haute-Savoie prefecture recalled some safety rules. “It would be reasonable to postpone your plans for mountain outings in order to benefit from conditions more conducive to the practice of mountaineering and outdoor activities.”
