Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Climbers Die in Blizzard in Alps

Rescuers criticize unprepared group that ignored warnings

By Max Brallier, Newser User

Posted Jul 26, 2007 7:22 AM CDT

(Newser) – After four climbers died in a sudden blizzard in the French Alps, safety officials expressed frustration yesterday, saying the group was unprepared for the conditions and ignored warnings of bad weather. A 30-year-old British man and three women in their 20s froze to death on Mont Blanc late Monday or early Tuesday after the storm stranded them, the Guardian reports.

The students were wearing lightweight clothing when they set out at 3am Monday after nearly 2 days of weather warnings, police said. "They should have turned back," said one gendarme. "Every year we see this sort of thing." In separate incidents in the Italian Alps, a Belgian man and a German woman died in the same storm.

The Pope Takes A Trip To Mont Blanc During HolidaysE (Getty Images)

A French police helicopter leaves Mont Blanc carrying Danish artist Marco Evaristti who was arrested on Mont Blanc in the French Alps, Tuesday, June 5, 2007. French police, took the action fearing that... (Associated Press)

Mountainers raise their arms and hold the Webb Ellis trophy of... (Getty Images)

FRANCE. Flaine. 24/08/2001: View on the Massif du Mont Blanc. (PAR212200) (Magnum Photos)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Search Called Off for 8 Mont Blanc Climbers

Rescuers call off search for Mont Blanc climbers lost in avalanche yesterday

(NEWSER) - The search for eight mountaineers swept away by an avalanche yesterday on Mont-Blanc du Tacul in the French Alps has been called off because of hazardous conditions on the mountain, the Telegraph reports. The five Austrians and three Swiss nationalists are presumed dead. Ten other climbers, suffering from broken bones and hypothermia, were rescued. More»

French Alpine Glaciers Vanishing

Glaciers down by a quarter over 40 years

(NEWSER) - France's glaciers have lost more than a quarter of their area in the last 40 years, and the rate of retreat appears to be accelerating, researchers warn. The 600 or so glaciers in the French Alps covered some 145 square miles in the early '70s but that was down to 106 square miles a few years ago, according to a team that used map archives, satellite imagery, and manual inspection to inventory the country's glaciers. More»

Swiss Fear Vast Glacier Chunk Might Fall

There's a massive crack in the ice

(NEWSER) - Swiss authorities have blocked off hiking trails near the Giesen glacier in the Bernese Alps and sent a crisis team to monitor it, for fear that it’s about to shed a slab of ice the size of 12 football fields. A huge crevasse has been discovered in the glacier, and while so far only small pieces of ice are falling, there’s a possibility of the whole thing fracturing and sending massive torrents of ice plummeting, the AFP reports. More»

French Fight Erupts Over Marauding Wolves

Shepherds want to hunt sheep killers at will

(NEWSER) - Call it Yellowstone sur Seine. French shepherds are demanding the surging wolf population be culled following increasing sheep deaths by the growing packs of protected canines. Wolves are now roaming the Vosges Mountains on the Alsace-Lorraine border for the first time in 80 years. Some experts predict the wolves could reach forests near Paris in a decade if not controlled, reports the Independent . A handful of Italian wolves in the Alps have multiplied to some 200 animals in 20 packs. But that's bad news for sheep, so a group of Alpine shepherds and politicians are petitioning for the right to hunt the animals at will. More»

6 Bodies Found in French Alps

No details yet on how climbers died

(AP) - A hiker discovered the bodies of six mountain climbers in France's Hautes-Alpes region today, the apparent victims of an accident yesterday. Mountain police based in Briancon said the bodies were discovered in a steep corridor at 8,858 feet, a day after the climbers left an overnight Alpine refuge. Police said the group apparently was headed, on two ropes, for a point at 11,857 feet in the Massif des Ecrins. The bodies were brought to a nearby village by helicopter for identification. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Climbers Die in Blizzard in Alps

Rescuers criticize unprepared group that ignored warnings

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Mont Blanc • Alps

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Search Called Off for 8 Mont Blanc Climbers

Rescuers call off search for Mont Blanc climbers lost in avalanche yesterday

French Alpine Glaciers Vanishing

Glaciers down by a quarter over 40 years

Swiss Fear Vast Glacier Chunk Might Fall

There's a massive crack in the ice

French Fight Erupts Over Marauding Wolves

Shepherds want to hunt sheep killers at will

6 Bodies Found in French Alps

No details yet on how climbers died

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Climbers Die in Blizzard in Alps

Rescuers criticize unprepared group that ignored warnings

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Mont Blanc • Alps

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Search Called Off for 8 Mont Blanc Climbers

Rescuers call off search for Mont Blanc climbers lost in avalanche yesterday

French Alpine Glaciers Vanishing

Glaciers down by a quarter over 40 years

Swiss Fear Vast Glacier Chunk Might Fall

There's a massive crack in the ice

French Fight Erupts Over Marauding Wolves

Shepherds want to hunt sheep killers at will

6 Bodies Found in French Alps

No details yet on how climbers died

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?