Climb to the top of Mont Blanc
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All climbers wishing to summit Mont Blanc via the popular trail from France will be required to pay a €15,000 deposit to offset costs in case they need to be rescued.
Jean-Marc Peilex, mayor of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, where the route to the top of Western Europe’s highest mountain begins, called a deposit a necessary response to tourists ignoring warnings and playing Russian roulette with their lives.
The mayor’s office specified that 10,000 euros would cover potential rescue costs and 5,000 euros for a possible funeral.
In mid-July, local guides suspended work on the route due to heavy rockfall, and the commune urged people to avoid climbs. In a statement, Peileks noted that dozens of “pseudo climbers” ignored the warnings. He said that five Romanian tourists tried to make the ascent “in shorts, sneakers and straw hats”, the mountain police had to be sent to intercept them. “Let’s then plan in advance the costs of their rescue and burial. It is unacceptable for French taxpayers to bear these costs,” the mayor said, adding that those who climb to the top do so “with death in their backpacks.”
According to statistics, more than 100 people have died on this route over the past 20 years. Local guides, who stopped work until mid-August, said they witnessed rockfalls day and night.
Author – Angela Giuffrida;
Source – The Guardian
Translation: Prilepsky Daniel, Moskovskaya Pravda.
Photo en.wikipedia.org
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