Saturday 5th August 2017, a group of Hungarian climbers were about to attempt to summit Mont Blanc with their two 9 year old children.
According to Le Messager, the parents, their two young twins and a friend were about to set off from the Gouter Hut (3,815m), when a mountain guide alerted the Chamonix PGHM.
Indeed, the alert was given at 8:30am by the mountain guide who saw the climbers in full ascent of Mont Blanc.
Hubert Chaudeurge, witness of the scene, said that he saw the children "paralysed, crying and no longer able to move under the weight of their packs. He also filmed the mother and her two children helicoptered off the mountain by the Chamonix PGHM.
Watch here the video:
The gendarms were shocked
The gendarmes of the Chamonix PGHM were shocked to see children at this altitude. The SMUR doctor said that spending the night in the shelter could also be dangerous for their health.
There is no age limit imposed on anyone wanting to climb Mont Blanc, however there are significant risks of getting serious altitude sickness, which could lead to further, more serious health risks.
Altitude sickness can affect people who climb or travel (ascend) to more than 2,500 metres (8,000 feet) altitude, particularly if they ascend too quickly. It is due to the fact that your body has not got used (acclimatised) to the high altitude.
