Two refuges allowing the ascent of Mont-Blanc, closed at the beginning of August due to the "
danger of death
" linked to rockfalls in times of drought, will reopen on Saturday with the improvement of climatic conditions, the mayor announced on Wednesday August 17. of Saint-Gervais (Haute-Savoie).
“
The end of the heat wave and some precipitation marked a significant change in the climatic conditions
” of the highest peak in Western Europe, with “
greater stability of the mountain
”, explained in a press release Jean-Marc Peillex, the mayor of Saint-Gervais, a commune at the summit of Mont-Blanc.
“
This situation makes it possible to envisage the reopening of the Tête Rousse and Goûter refuges from Saturday August 20, with the exception, however, of the Tête Rousse base camp
”, according to the same source.
Read also Heatwaves: Mont-Blanc in pain
A recognition of the local guides intended to "
apprehend the state of the Aiguille and the Goûter corridor
" - allowed "
to purge several unstable blocks
" which "
had been spotted for several years
", according to the same source.
"
This obviously does not mean that there is no longer any risk since the mountain is a natural environment which only responds to its rules
", warns the mayor of Saint-Gervais who plans to resume "
immediately a decree closure of shelters
in the event of a further deterioration in conditions.
On August 5, the Tête Rousse and Goûter refuges had stopped welcoming visitors, while the heat wave had been causing major rockfalls for several weeks.
The "
royal access route
" to Mont-Blanc via Saint-Gervais "
is and will remain a mountaineering route, it will never be the star attraction of a large leisure park where the rocks that fall would be made of polystyrene
" , recalls the chosen one .
While the ascent has been discouraged since mid-July, many are those who rush to the summit despite everything.
But this route is not “
a training place for trail runners in shorts and sneakers, lacking in red blood cells
”, according to the mayor of Saint-Gervais.
Exasperated by the carelessness of "
candidates for death
" who ignore safety instructions, the elected official announced this summer, in the form of a joke, his intention to ask amateur mountaineers for a deposit of 15,000 euros - a sum "
corresponding to the average cost of rescue (EUR 10,000) and the victim's burial costs (EUR 5,000)
”.
