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Climbing Mont Blanc is a tall order while Europe smolders

#Climbing #Mont #Blanc #tall #order #Europe #smolders

Fridge-sized rocks tumble from Mont Blanc as summer temperatures soar, discouraging many hikers from Western Europe’s highest mountain.

The heat waves and drought-like conditions that have recently scorched much of the continent have exposed huge fissures and triggered rock falls, making the climb to the summit more difficult and dangerous.

None of the seven trails leading to the summit of the mountain, which dominates the Alps at 4,807 meters, is officially closed.

But conditions have deteriorated so much that experts say only the most experienced climbers can reach it in late July.

A lack of snow in winter has exposed and cracked glaciers at high altitude, with large portions taking on a gray or yellow tint caused by the accumulation of sand particles from the Sahara.

The heat did the rest of the damage, melting the fragile snowpack that made crevasse crossing possible and sending huge boulders tumbling down the slopes.

– ‘Definitely global warming’ –

The tourist season is in full swing in the southern French resort of Chamonix, nestled in the foothills of Mont Blanc.

Visitors arrive by the thousands every day to reach the summit, the Aiguille du Midi, thanks to a cable car.

But relatively few go to a small ice-carved cave that serves as a dressing room and base for climbers preparing for their high-altitude trek to Mont Blanc or across the Vallee Blanche Glacier.

Among the intrepid explorers were Evan Warden and his 14-year-old son David, who came from Scotland to tackle the glacier below the Aiguille du Midi – only to find the conditions “terrible”.

“Everywhere we ran, there was just constant rockfall and the crevasses were constantly opening up,” said David, who is visiting the Alps for the first time.

The couple scrapped plans to climb Mont Blanc via the ‘Trois Monts’ route because the journey became too risky, explained Evan, who hopes to return next year.

“I haven’t seen so much rockfall here for a long time, it’s definitely global warming,” he said.

Norwegian couple Monica and Marten Antheun had waited three years to climb the mythical mountain. But the booked guided hike was canceled due to the unsafe conditions.

“The guides know the area and they know the conditions. That’s fine with us – we can do it later,” said a philosophical Monica.

– Rocks “as big as refrigerators” –

Tour guide companies in Chamonix and near Saint-Gervais suspended Mont Blanc ascents via the popular ‘Gouter’ pass in mid-July due to potentially fatal rockfall falling down the so-called ‘Pass of Death’.

The oppressive temperatures of recent weeks have destabilized the mountain, according to Noe Verite, a warden at a refuge on the Trois Monts trail.

He said the mercury at his post – at a staggering 12,000 feet (3,613 meters) – recently reached six degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit) in the middle of the night.

This prevented ice from refreezing and forced climbers using the route to turn back, he told AFP.

July is usually Verite’s peak season, but due to deteriorating weather conditions, cancellations have piled up.

Rocks “the size of fridges” have smashed the usual route to the summit, and only a die-hard group of climbers dare take other routes like “l’Innominata” because of their difficulty, he said.

Olivier Grebert, president of the Chamonix Guides Company, said only about a dozen people, mostly specialists, reach the summit of Mont Blanc, while up to 120 do in normal times.

Canceled bookings are rescheduled, refunded or otherwise re-arranged, and the company has used the hiatus to educate those who unwisely see climbing the mountain as a fun way to celebrate their 40th birthday.

“This climb should be part of a climbing career. Mont Blanc sometimes has the reputation of being an easy climb, but that’s not the case, especially this year,” said Grebert.

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#Climbing #Mont #Blanc #tall #order #Europe #smolders

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