Serac Collapse Kills 2 Clients With 1 Guide On Mont Maudit On Mont Blanc Massif In France
Mont Maudit, France – On August 16, 2016, two clients and one guide were killed by an avalanche of seracs on Mont Maudit, a summit of the Mont Blanc Massif in the French Alps.
It is reported by the Associated Press that, “a tower of ice swept over them and they fell 150 meters (500 feet) to their deaths.” The chunks of ice were 3 to 4 meters wide. When the serac failed, the blocks of ice fractured causing an avalanche that swept them down the mountain.
The team had planned to climb Mount du Tacul, Mont Maudit, and Mont Blanc. They took the Aiguille du Midi and spend the night at the Cosmiques Refuge. They left the hut at around 1:45 AM on Tuesday morning to ascend the mountain. Authorities were notified 36 hours after the climbers went missing. Rescuers included 16 gendarmes and 2 dogs responded who who responded to the accident site.
Rescuers found the clients, a 32-year-old Slovakian and 33-year-old Polish-Briton at 8:08 PM and 20:50 PM Wednesday night in a gully. They were still attached to the rope according to MetroNews.fr. The 50-year-old German guide was found at 6:30 AM on Thursday morning.
Two of the bodies were buried about 50 cm deep and one was buried about a meter deep. The rescuers used chain saws and a backhoe to remove the bodies from the snow and ice. TheSun.co.uk writes that Chamonix gendarmerie Stephane Bozon believes “that that the victims died instantly due to head injuries.”
The High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon Chamonix (PGHM) will investigate the incident.
Mont Maudit translates to the “Cursed Mountain.” It is 4,465 meters.
This incident happened in the same sector where a NZ guide was killed on June 20. News sources indicate that there multiple fatal mountain accidents in France this week including a hang gliding instructor, paraglider, 2 rock climbers, and a wingsuit jumper (CNN.com).
Read more about the avalanche on Mont Maudit from the following sources:
- BFMTV.com
- Associated Press
- DailyMail.co.uk
- Telegraph.co.uk
- TheSun.co.uk
- Standard.co.uk
- BBC.com
- France 3
- MetroNews.fr
