Mont Blanc: Two local men killed by an avalanche

Brizon resident, Boris Pouilly, a volunteer from the Association du Pays Rochois mountain rescue team, died yesterday morning with a young climbing partner from Annemasse. They were on a long traverse, the crossing the "Droites", in the basin of the Talèfre glacier. There were no eye witnesses, so rescuers from the Chamonix PGHM have assessed the conditions and made the following assumptions. A plaque of unstable snow, a small avalanche, hit the climbers, who where crossing under the Tower of the 3600m Courtes. The two men aged 28 and 37, fell down the rock face. At around 9am yesterday morning, an aircraft pilot from Megève, overflying the area, saw two bodies on the Talèfre glacier. The PGHM could only confirm the death of the climbers. A figure among rescuers and associations of the mountains in the valley of Arve Last night, Leon Roch, President of the Pays Rochois mountain rescue association, told reporters that Boris was not a novice. He was Head of the Alpine Mountaineering Department of the Club Alpin Francais of La Roche and Bonneville. Boris was preparing for his Trek Leader Diploma and was becoming increasingly involved in rescue training. He leaves behind a wife and three children. Elsewhere, in the Mont-Blanc region, PGHM teams were called out a total of eight times yesterday. Amongst these rescues was a paraglider pilot, evacuated from the Domes de Miage and assistance was provided for a mountaineer on the Mer de Glace. There were two more interventions on the Dome du Gouter, another at the Refuge de Tête Rousse on the normal route of Mont Blanc. Le Dauphiné