Jean-Marc Peillex is tired of seeing some mountaineers pulling on the rope.
The mayor of the town of Saint-Gervais, a required passage to access the “royal” route of Mont Blanc, known as the Goûter, has decided to close the Tête Rousse and Goûter refuges, located on the route.
Due to the high temperatures, the most popular route to the highest peak in the Alps has become too dangerous, especially due to the risk of falling rocks at the Couloir du Goûter.
The Chamonix guides company has decided not to take any more clients there until at least August 15, and the town hall and the prefecture recommend not to attempt the ascent.
"
79 mountaineers, the vast majority from Eastern European countries, played Russian roulette and invaded the Goûter refuge despite these recommendations
”, regrets the mayor in a press release published on August 5, 2022.
Read alsoMont Blanc is suffocating: “Such conditions so early in the year are unheard of”
€15,000 deposit to climb Mont Blanc?
On August 3, the mayor announced his desire to impose a deposit of €15,000 on “
creepy candidates for death who want to reach the summit of Mont Blanc
”.
A sum which, according to him, corresponds to the average cost of mountain rescue and the cost of the victim's burial.
A proposal to be taken “
in the 19th degree
”, explained the mayor to
Dauphiné Libéré
, intended above all to make people react.
“
It seems legally difficult to implement a deposit of €15,000 to cover the rescue and burial costs of the insane and unconscious who poke fun at us
,” he confirms in his press release.
Their stupidity constrains me and forces me to show authority and to decide to issue an order for the closure of the Tête Rousse and Goûter refuges, after consultation with the Prefecture and the President of the Saint-Gervais guide company
.
»
