In a year marked by drought and heat waves, rock falls and gaping crevices have made access to the summit of Mont Blanc even more difficult and dangerous – to the great frustration of amateur climbers.
Officially, none of the seven routes leading to the 4,807-meter summit are closed, but by the end of July access conditions had deteriorated to such an extent that only the most experienced climbers could make the ascent. experts say.
A lack of snow during the winter has exposed large areas of greyish glaciers – yellowish where sand dust from the Sahara has accumulated – torn by fractures.
The heat did the rest and caused the melting of the fragile snow bridges that allow crossing the crevasses and lead to landslides.
In the south-eastern French town of Chamonix, at the foot of the ‘White Giant’, the season is in full swing as thousands of tourists flock to the summit of Aiguille du Midi by cable car, at 3,842 metres, the closest peak to the summit of Mont Blanc without hiking or climbing.
– “Terrible” conditions –
But in the small cave carved into the ice, which serves as a changing room and starting point for climbers in many hill climbs, fewer people are putting on crampons than ever before.
Scotsman Evan Warden and his 14-year-old son David said they were shocked to discover the “horrible” conditions.
“Everywhere we walked there was constant rockfall and the crevasses kept opening. (We were) quite worried,” said David, 14, on his first visit to the Alps.
“MB is too risky…that was our plan, yes, but I haven’t seen that much rockfall here in a long time. That’s definitely global warming,” Evan said, adding that the couple had hoped to do the “Trois Monts” (three peaks) route.
The Norwegians Monica and Marten Antheun had also hoped to be able to reach the famous summit after a three-year wait.
You had booked a trip but it was cancelled.
“I think the guides know the area and the conditions. It’s okay for us, we can do that later,” Monica said.
In mid-July, the mountain guide company Les Compagnies des guides de Chamonix et de Saint-Gervais announced the temporary suspension of ascents of Mont Blanc via the “normal” Gouter route due to rockfalls in the Gouter corridor, also known as the “death gully”. .
Access remains open only to independent guides.
Recent very high temperatures have destabilized the mountain, says Noe Verite, caretaker of the Cosmiques hut, which is on the Trois Monts route.
“We see the conditions getting worse day by day,” he said.
– “Like fridges” –
July is usually the peak of the season for him, but cancellations are piling up.
The usual route is marred by large rocks “like refrigerators,” Verite said.
Currently, only between a dozen and 20 experienced climbers make it to the top of Mont Blanc each day, compared to 100 to 120 normally, says Olivier Grebert, president of the Compagnie des guides de Chamonix.
Canceled races are rescheduled, refunded or re-routed and the company is taking the opportunity to do a bit of education with those wanting to climb the summit, for example ‘for their 40th birthday’.
“This climb has to be part of a mountaineering career,” explains Grebert: “Mont Blanc sometimes has the reputation of being an easy climb, but that’s not the case, even more so this year.”
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