On Monday morning, September 28, a French alpiniste plunged to his death while descending from Gouter Hut (3835 metres) in the Mont-Blanc Massif.
The tragedy occurred around 8:30am while crossing the Gouter couloir. The victim, a 69-year-old-man, Chamonix resident, fell to his death about 500 metres the mountain.
His body was carried by snow slides and rocks hundreds of metres down to the Bionnassay Glacier. Although Chamonix rescue team quickly reacted, the fall was fatal for the man. On arrival at the scene of the accident, the PGHM declared the alpiniste dead.
They suppose a technical fault of crampons caused the man's death. As the victim was crossing all alone the "couloir of death" at the time of his fall, the circumstances of the accident are still uncertain.
The lifeless body of the alpiniste was helicopted and recovered back to Chamonix.
