UKC

Anyone else read this article in the Telegraph?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10963717/Mont-Blanc...

Had my first trip into the alps this June and am glad I went to the Bernina Range where it was really quiet. Had the mountains to ourselves most of the time. This kind of popularity around Mont Blanc wouldn't see me go anywhere near it!

In reply to Derry:

Don't go high season and it's fine

In reply to Derry:

Jean-Marc Peillex the Maire of St Gervais is something of a megalomaniac who just can't keep himself out of the media. Bit like he just enjoys rubbing the fact that Mont Blanc is in the commune of St Gervais and not Chamonix into the Chamoniardes' faces. The truth is that the Goûter route has been just like this for years. It's not a new thing that folk want to charter a helicopter to get them down from the hut. There was a short period a few years back when quite a few people did just that. Thankfully it is now outlawed. If Peillex really wanted to reduce the numbers of climbers going on Mont Blanc he should have denied CAF permission to build the new hut.

This quote by Peillex referring to Richard Branson seems to say it all:


@ woolardjt: You could actually go a stage further and simply say avoid the Goûter...

In reply to Derry:

Wonder how this happened.. .. . ??

"There are occasions when the rescuers have no choice but to step in. Last month, one climber was within a few hundred yards of the summit but was forced to call in rescue services because someone had stolen his walking boots."

In reply to Doghouse:
I don't think he was a few hundred yards from the summit. From what I remember, I think he was in the hut.

Edit: http://www.francebleu.fr/infos/montagne/un-alpiniste-coince-sur-le-massif-d...

In reply to jon:

for those that don't speak French....or want to use babelfish....

"This is an unusual theft that took place at 3800 meters altitude. On the night of Sunday to Monday mountaineer of 48 years was stolen shoes. The theft took place at the refuge Taste the access road to the summit of Mont Blanc. The problem is that without shoes, mountaineering socks could not come down.
A climber was robbed of his shoes at the shelter located at 3835 Taste meters in the Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie). The 48 year old man had to be evacuated by helicopter of the Force in the Chamonix valley. Without proper equipment, and socks in the mountains, he could not move. To find the valley, and the Eagle's Nest (2372 meters), the terminus of the train of Mont Blanc, the climber would have to walk several hours without his shoes. Face the dangers and risks associated with negative temperatures, the man has been taken care of with all its equipment to 9am Monday rescuers Platoon mountain gendarmerie (PGHM) Chamonix."

disclaimer - translation unedited.

Pretty low taking someone's boots !
I wonder how often that occurs in the Alps.
What to do if you have just purchased a nice pair of expensive boots.
Would they be there in the morning ?

In reply to Raymondo:

Refuge du Goûter hut has been translated to refuge Taste.
I must admit, I have never given the meaning of the name a thought before.

In reply to Sir Stefan:

goûter is also a late afternoon snack

In reply to Doug:

As per dome du goûter - the name is to do with the sun being over it around afternoon snack time, I was once told.

In reply to Raymondo:

Someone once tried to take my boots from a locker on a flight home from Cham. We'd landed in Bristol, and (since I prefer sitting in the chair to standing up for 20 minutes while the crew do whatever they do in that interminable period between the plane stopping and everyone being allowed to go and wait in customs) I was waiting for people to start moving before barging through and retrieving the boots.

Someone actually took them out of the overhead locker and started inspecting them, looked around a bit, and as the queue started to move, began to move down the aisle with them! Not at all apologetic when I shouted across the plane that they belonged to me and I'd like him to leave them where he found them. I've no idea if he thought they were his/he was being helpful etc, but really did look like he was pinching them! Dread to think why too - they were awful, I'd been wearing them every day for a month...

In reply to jayjackson:

I once got an unused BD Viper stolen overnight in a hut.I never managed to claim on my insurance either,even though I reported it to he police in Zermatt.