Recently Mont Blanc has become overcrowded and many novices are putting their lives in danger. The Mayor of Saint-Gervais wants to restrict the access for "jesters" and "false guides".
According to The Telegraph, Mont-Blanc Massif is a great attraction for tourists from all over the world with 400 climbers every day in summer, unfortunately, most of them are inexperienced.
This summer approximately fifteen climbers lost their lives, but the situation is worsening due to the recent heatwave. Is a great risk of avalanches and rockfalls as glaciers melt.
Disrespectful climbers:
According to the mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex, some attempt the ascent without proper equipment.
A section of the popular “Royal Route” to the summit, along with the Goûter ridge, is so dangerous that it is nicknamed the “corridor of death”. But above all, the mayor is alarmed by the disrespectful behavior of some mountaineers.
On 15th August "a guide was punched because he did not let eight east European climbers pass his group,” the mayor said. In the Dôme du Goûter, three reckless tourists took a nap side by side on a snow bridge.
Four badly roped Spanish men on Arrête des Bosses, deliberately jostled a guide when he insisted to double their rope.
Another man was wearing trainers instead of mountain boots with crampons, he was spotted on the narrow Bosses Ridge leading to the summit, “One man even tried to drag his poor dog up there."
According to Le Figaro, an intervention took place on 11th August, when some Latvians attempted to climb with a 10-meter mast to hoist their national flag to the summit of Mont Blanc. Alerted by the mayor, the gendarmes stopped them.
In another case, a tourist has even pitched his tent at the top of Mont Blanc, announced the mayor. Also, some "false guides" have been found and denounced.
Authorities are willing to introduce compulsory climbing licenses and fine people without proper equipment. That may reduce the number of tragic accidents.
According to Le Dauphine, the "extremists" are thus ready for anything, forcing the PGHM to act as an aerial taxi for blocked mountaineers.
The authorities have started to turn away climbers without pre-booked accommodation at the Goûter refuge. You can read about the subject here.
Pierre Lambert, the Haute Savoie perfect, said: “Given the current laws, it is impossible to force climbers to have the minimum equipment or a license.”
But in the end, the mayor declared that "In 2019 nothing will be the same, Mont Blanc will have to regain its lost dignity!"
To the full article on The Telegraph, click here.
