Alpiniste killed in Avalanche, Aiguille Argentière

Alpiniste killed in Avalanche On Saturday at 13:00hrs, a Norwegian mountaineer called the Mountain Rescue (PGHM) from the Argentière refuge. An avalanche had just swept away one of his two climbing partners from the top of the glacier du Milieu near the Aiguille d'Argentière, over a distance of at least 100m. The 48 year old man suffered injuries to his leg and ribs. Several rescue attempts by helicopter were made, but were unsuccessful due to high winds. Rescuers asked Guides in the refuge to try to reach the injured climber, still being cared for by the other climber of the team. A five-man rescue team set-off, & managed to reach the victim and bring him back down to the refuge on a makeshift sled, arriving at 22:00hrs. A German doctor present attempted to stabilise the victim, but at 00:30hrs the injured climber finally succumbed to his injuries. In recent days, heavy snowfall has blanketed the Mont-Blanc range, and the conditions have recently become very unstable due to higher temperatures and high winds.