Mont Blanc, Couloir du Goûter Claims Two More Lives

Wednesday 10hr20:

A female Czech alpinist lost her footing whilst on the last section of the couloir, she was in a well equipped group of 5.

Wednesday 21hr00:

A male Czech alpinist suffered fatal injures after a 800m fall yesterday, he was climbing with 6 other well equipped people. This begs the moral question should there be more done to secure this horrible traverse known to some as “Couloir of Death”

There currently is a fixed cable which is only really used in winter, to secure yourself from being swept away by an avalanche. The time to attach yourself in the summer months only increases the chances of being hit by falling rocks. Nobody in these two groups were roped together.

3 replies

Pedro says:
October 6, 2017 at 5:26 am

Sorry… but isn’t that a route that’s sopouse to dangerous all the time for all the rocks slides lately???
- Patrick Murray says:
  October 6, 2017 at 11:54 am
  
  It has sure been a crazy year in this couloir… if the summers keep getting hotter/ dryer things could get a lot worse…
Jörn says:
October 13, 2017 at 11:33 pm

You should definitely use the rope in summer too. The main problem is not directly the rockfall but the loss of balance due to a rock hitting you or almost hitting you. You do not need a lot of time to secure yourself. Fix a rope between you and your climbing partner, while you are still on secure ground. Then quickly fix a carabiner on the rope and the cable at the same time. This is fast, will leave you enough leaway to run and will save you from falling.