Massive avalanche near Chamonix - 9 dead

[Fromage]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/world/europe/deadly-avalanche-surprises-french-alpine-town-of-chamonix.html?_r=1&hp

 

Yikes. I remember looking at Maudit from the summits of Mont Blanc and Mont Blanc du Tacul and thinking an enchainement of these three peaks would be a great climb. It's an impressive mountain but this slide sounds freakish. 9 climbers taken out. Bizarre conditions for this time of year.

 

PARIS — At least nine European climbers were swept to their deaths early Thursday by an avalanche that left at least 11 injured and four climbers unaccounted for in France’s Mont Blanc mountain range, authorities said.

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Officials believe the avalanche, at about 13,000 feet, started when a 16-inch thick sheath of ice broke off and slid down the northern face of Mont Maudit, which abuts Mont Blanc. The slide gathered mass, transforming into a 50-yard onslaught of snow, according to the gendarme service in the alpine city of Chamonix. A large climbing party of 28, roped into two groups, as well as about 10 other climbers were on the mountain when the avalanche struck, sweeping up some in its path.

 

Eric Fournier, the mayor of Chamonix, told reporters that no weather bulletin had been issued warning of an avalanche, and that shifting ice sheets could have caused the disaster. There was some speculation that a recent spell of warm weather might have weakened the ice.

 

Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, said he would arrive in Chamonix on Thursday and expressed his deep sadness, saying that the authorities would investigate.

 

The accident adds to this year’s alpine death toll. On July 3, five German climbers fell to their deaths in the Swiss Alps, plunging several hundred yards while descending the 13,155-foot Lagginghorn. Investigators are looking at what role ice beneath the snow might have played.

 

At 14,648 feet, Mont Maudit offers routes that are among the most challenging and treacherous in the world. About 30 people a year die in the Swiss Alps, while Mont Maudit alone claims dozens a year, though not usually in such large groups.

 

Rescuers said they were first alerted to the accident at 5:25 a.m. by a climber who managed to escape. Officers from the gendarmerie in the Haute-Savoie region joined sniffer dogs, helicopters and rescue workers combing the mountainside for survivors. By early afternoon, two climbers had been rescued and emergency crews were searching for the missing. Mr. Valls said in a statement that the death count — initially estimated at six — was preliminary, while police said four people remained unaccounted for.

 

Bertrand François, the head of the Haute-Savoie rescue squad, said the dead included two Spaniards, three Germans and one Swiss and three people whose nationalities were not yet known. British news reports said three of the victims were British. The group was also believed to have included climbers from Denmark, France and Serbia, some of whom, for reasons as yet unknown, turned back before the avalanche fell. The 11 injured were hospitalized at the nearby town of Sallanches, officials said.

 

Mr. François offered some hope for the missing climbers, saying it was possible that they had been ahead of the rest of the group or had taken a different route and had not been swept away. “It doesn’t necessarily mean they are under the avalanche,” he told reporters.

 

Jean-Louis Verdier, a senior official in Chamonix said that the avalanche had come as a shock. “We had no more reason than usual to be alarmed,” Mr. Verdier told Reuters TV. “It’s a steep mountain face. There are big plates of snow we know of where an avalanche can easily occur. But this morning we had no reason to expect an avalanche of this size and such a tragedy.”

[banos]

vibes

[Teh Phuzzy]

A large climbing party of 28, roped into two groups...

 

in groups of two or is there a reason for putting 14 on a rope?

 

guess I never climb with that many, but do people do this?

 

 

[ScaredSilly]

I have soled the walk from the Aiguille du Midi to Mont Blanc, thus traversing Mont Blanc du Tacul and Mont Maudit in the process. It is a nice walk in the sky and is also known as the Triple Cols route (Col du Midi, Col du Maudit, and Col de la Brenv).

 

The route between Col du Maudit and Col de la Brenv crosses under the north side of Maudit. Oddly enough I do not remember that section very well. However, it is well known area for serac fall and avalanches.

 

One of the climbers who died was Roger Payne who is a well respected Britsh alpinist. He was guiding two clients.

 

TP - it was not one large group but multiple parties in the vicinity. They tend to get bottlenecked on that slope. From what I read it was 28 climber who left the hut approximately together. The other ten were probably camped in the Valleé Blanche.

 

A good description of the route: http://www.summitpost.org/three-monts-traverse/293351