family dies climbing Mt Blanc

[XXX]

Didn't see anyone else post this story. Thought you might be interested:

 

MILAN, Italy (AP) - A Dutch woman watched her husband and three children fall to their deaths Thursday while climbing near Mont Blanc, Europe's highest peak, Italian rescuers said.

 

The 56-year-old man, who was roped to his son and two daughters, plunged 500 meters (1,600 feet) down a slope of rock, ice and snow as their mother watched from below, said Oscar Tajola, head of the mountain rescue corps in the nearby town of Courmayeur.

 

"We had to take her to hospital because she was in shock," Tajola said by telephone. "We think one of them slipped and pulled the others down."

 

The woman, 50, was later released from hospital and identified the bodies of her husband and her children, aged 17 to 23, police in the ski-resort town said.

 

The family was climbing 3,800-meter (12,500-foot) Mont Dolent, which is part of the Mont Blanc massif. The 4,810-meter (15,780-foot) Mont Blanc straddles Italy and France and attracts hundreds of climbers a year. Dozens of them die on the massif each year.

 

[rob]

horrible

[builder206]

Dozens of them die on the massif each year.

 

whoa

[ScaredSilly]

The thread title is wrong as they died on Mt Dolent. While technically part of the Mt. Blanc Massif is a not exactly close by Mt. Blanc itself. This is akin to saying some died on the Grand Teton when they were on Mt. Moran. Yeah Moran is part of the Teton Massif but ... The accident is truly horrific in that the mom/wife watched it happen. Very sad. And yes many people die in the alps each year.

 

Trivia - Mt Dolent is a unique Peak in that it lies on the border of France, Italy, and Swirzerland. There is a very ice climb on it from the French side that we did one spring that is something like 12 pitches. Here is a photo of it (look for the little sliver to the right of the summit and the "horizontal" ridge leading to it.