the ascent of Mont Blanc becomes perilous due to falling rocks

The main routes for the ascent of Mont Blanc are experiencing significant rockfall, which makes the climb perilous on Monday July 25. The Couloir du Goûter, the most frequented passage to reach the summit, is strongly discouraged. There is no ban, but mountaineers know the risks. Some still decide to leave. “I don’t understand their way of doing things, their way of approaching the mountain“, worries Philippe Godard, rescuer of the white brigade of Saint-Gervais (Haute-Savoie).

The route becomes dangerous from an altitude of 1,300 m. High mountain gendarmes watch the Goûter corridor. At any moment, stones fall from Mont Blanc and threaten to crash into the mountaineers who have ventured onto the route. “It falls all day (…) in fact, it is unpredictable“, notes Adrien Buet, from the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie platoon. The guides no longer offer visits to Mont Blanc, while the prefecture and the town hall of Saint-Gervais are asking tourists to give up the ascent of Mont Blanc. .