Tuesday was to be a high point in the construction of the new Refuge du Gouter. A visit by officials of the French Federation of Alpine Mountain Clubs (FFCAM) marked the end of work and the closure of the refuge today (Wednesday), for winter. This is an extraordinary project, and at 3830 metres above sea level it is the highest building in France. Workers had a real challenge to finish on time despite the weather and the vagaries of the high mountains. But it was all ruined by one unfortunate misstep of a worker, who at 16:00hrs Tuesday lost his balance and fell into the void. Patrick Dumas, the head of "building heritage" with the FFCAM, was moving on scaffolding on the outside of the shelter, when he fell almost 30m, head first. The workers and site managers present were helpless, and could only watch the death of their colleague. The Chamonix PGHM recovered the body and are now undertaking the difficult task of understanding what happened yesterday afternoon. An investigation has been opened.
