La Chamoniarde, the local mountain security association, draws attention on the current conditions for climbing Mont Blanc.
According to Radio Mont Blanc, the rain and the cold of these last days made the snow very hard.
Therefore climbers adventuring in the Mont Blanc massif must have a very high level of mountaineering experience.
Info Security: icy snow at high altitude
"Many accidents took place the past few days on the route of the Three Mountains due to icy snow conditions."
This frozen snow results from the rain at very high altitude, at about 4000 meters above sea level, together with the strong decrease of the temperature during the night. Result: hard and icy snow on several sectors:
- Dôme du Goûter;
- North face of Mont-Blanc du Tacul;
- Mont-Maudit.
Monday 21st August 2017, was a particularly hard day for the PGMH, with many rescue interventions at Mont Blanc du Tacul.
La Chamoniarde alerts the mountaineers
While not technically challenging, these days, ascending Mont Blanc requires a high level of physical fitness and experience using crampons and an ice axe.
Océane Vibert, the Director of La Chamoniarde said that "these conditions require perfect knowledge of the cramponing techniques". "The itineraries usually open to novice mountaineers now are reserved to experienced mountaineers".
Check here the Facebook page of La Chamoniarde.
