On 21 July 2020, at around 12.30 pm, the PGHM of Chamonix were alerted by two British mountaineers in difficulty at Mont Blanc in Courmayeur, on the Franco-Italian border.
One of them fell into a crevasse. Suffering from severe mountain sickness, the victim was unable to move.
Two British mountaineers were making the gruelling climb of the Peuterey Integral when one of them fell into a crevasse.
The Peuterey Integral is the longest route in the Alps with over 4500m of climbing to the summit of Mont Blanc. The Peuterey Integral covers rock, mixed and snow terrain and crosses several peaks before reaching the summit Mont Blanc du Courmayeur.
Unable to move and suffering from acute mountain sickness, the victim found himself stuck at an altitude of 4,780 m (15,682 ft).
The mountaineers alerted the PGHM of Chamonix at around 12.30 pm. Four gendarmes intervened quickly.
Unable to intervene by air because of the bad weather, the gendarmes left from Col du Dôme du Goûter (4,304 m or 14,121 ft) at the beginning of the afternoon.
After crossing the Mont-Blanc summit to reach the other side of the massif, they managed to locate the two mountaineers at around 6 pm.
With the use of corticosteroids and an oxygen cylinder, rescuers were able to stimulate the injured climber enough to help him return home.
"This man was saved from a death that was almost certain under the conditions. We even considered the possibility of asking his teammate to abandon him because we were not sure we could join them in time", explains PGHM commander Stéphane Bozon.
After receiving first aid, the injured mountaineer, his companion and the gendarmes passed the summit of Mont Blanc to descend on the French side. A stop at the Vallot shelter (4,362m or 14,311ft) was planned, so the two mountaineers could warm up. The group had to spend the night at the shelter, because of the unfavourable weather.
Source @Le Dauphine
