Mont Blanc

18 Stories

Climber Found Box of Gems on Mont Blanc in 2013. Now, a Windfall

He receives half of the treasure, valued at nearly $170K

(Newser) - In 2013, a mountain climber on France's Mont Blanc discovered a metal box full of precious gems and turned it in to authorities. Eight years later, the unidentified climber is being rewarded for that move: Authorities split the treasure in half and gave one half to the climber; the...

With Glacier Collapse Looming, an 'Urgent' Evacuation

Residents, tourists in Italian resort town are sent elsewhere due to risk of falling Mont Blanc ice

(Newser) - As scientists nervously keep tabs on a giant section of ice in danger of falling off a Mont Blanc glacier, homes have been evacuated in the resort town of Courmayeur in Italy's Aosta Valley, while visitors have been told to go elsewhere. "We will find [alternative] solutions for...

Glacier Yields Newspapers From 1966 Plane Crash

They're still in 'very good condition'

(Newser) - January 1966 was an eventful month in Indian history: Indira Gandhi became the country's first female prime minister, and Air India Flight 101 crashed into Mont Blanc in France, killing all 117 passengers and crew. Melting ice on the mountain has now yielded remarkably well-preserved newspapers from the flight,...

Mont Blanc Glacier in Imminent Danger of Collapse

Ice avalanche could hit nearby valley

(Newser) - Authorities have closed roads, evacuated mountain huts, and banned access to a hiking area amid fears that a glacier in the Alps is in imminent danger of collapse. Authorities say a massive 9 million-square-foot chunk of the Planpincieux glacier on the Grande Jorasses peak could break away at any time,...

Mayor Outraged After Climber Leaves Rowing Machine on Mountain

'Bring on Brexit,' French mayor says

(Newser) - A British ex-soldier has outraged a French mayor by leaving a rowing machine near the summit of western Europe's highest mountain during an unusual fundraising drive. Matthew Disney, a former Royal Marine, has been climbing mountains carrying the machine on his back, then rowing the height of the summit....

Glacier Yields 3 Roped-Together Bodies

Climbers vanished on Mont Blanc 22 years ago

(Newser) - Western Europe's highest mountain is giving up more of its dead as the Mont Blanc glacier shifts and retreats. In the latest grim find, a French climber on the Italian side of the peak spotted the bodies of three roped-together climbers believed to have died in 1995, AFP reports....

Human Remains on Mont Blanc Could Be Decades Old

Daniel Roche found a hand, part of a leg

(Newser) - Daniel Roche's quest is an unusual one. As the AFP reports, he's been searching Mont Blanc's Bossons Glacier for years, looking for decades-old body parts. They could very likely be there: Two Air India flights crashed on the mountain, one in 1950 and one in 1966. And...

'Air Surgery' Saves 110 Trapped in Cable Cars Overnight

Tangled cables stopped the cars initially

(Newser) - Dozens of tourists, including a 10-year-old child, were safely rescued Friday after being trapped in cable cars dangling above the slopes of Mont Blanc in the Alps overnight. The mountain rescue service in the French city of Chamonix says cables entangled Thursday were repaired, and the cable cars were able...

110 People Trapped in Cable Cars Above Alps

They're being evacuated by helicopter

(Newser) - A series of cable cars became stuck over the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps, trapping 110 people who were being evacuated by helicopter on Thursday, French officials said. Chamonix Mayor Eric Fournier said that "there's nothing fundamentally to fear." Fournier, who spoke to BFM-TV, said that...

3 More Climbers Die in Falls on Mont Blanc

Incident follows tragedy days ago

(Newser) - Just days after six climbers died on Western Europe's tallest mountain—marking the deadliest accident there in two years, AFP notes via the Raw Story —three more have died at the site. This time, two climbers and their guide fell some 2,600 feet, police say; their bodies...

5 Climbers Dead on Western Europe's Tallest Mountain

Guide missing on Mont Blanc, site of many recent deaths

(Newser) - Another tragedy has struck at the peak of climbing season on Western Europe's highest mountain: Five climbers have perished on Mont Blanc in France and their guide is still missing, reports the AP . Word went out that the climbers had disappeared yesterday evening when they didn't come back...

Is This the World's Scariest Tourist Attraction?


 Is This the 
 World's Scariest 
 Tourist Attraction? 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 22, 2013 7:24 AM CST

Is This the World's Scariest Tourist Attraction?

If you're afraid of heights, then yeah, probably

(Newser) - If you have a fear of heights, then "Step Into the Void" is essentially your nightmare come to life. The tourist attraction, which opened yesterday, is essentially a glass cube suspended at the top of the Aiguille du Midi, a 12,605-foot tall peak in the French Alps. What'...

Big Find Atop French Alps: Jewels

Best guess is that the treasure is from a decades-old plane crash

(Newser) - A very honest mountain climber in the French Alps has stumbled upon an amazing find: a small box crammed with emeralds, sapphires, and other gems, reports the AP . The loot has been valued at about $330,000, but the anonymous climber handed it over to police upon his descent from...

9 Killed in Mont Blanc Avalanche

Some climbers still missing in French Alps

(Newser) - An avalanche in the French Alps killed nine climbers and left another four or five missing this morning, the Telegraph reports. Two groups comprised of 28 climbers, many of them highly experienced, were trying to climb Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe. The avalanche hit as they were ascending...

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...

10 Missing in Mont Blanc Avalanche

Helicopters, rescuers seeking survivors

(Newser) - Ten climbers are missing after an avalanche early this morning sheered off a snow slope on the north face of Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain. Helicopters, dogs, and rescue workers were searching today for survivors, which included Swiss and Austrian climbers. Eight people injured in the avalanche were being treated...

Climbers Die in Blizzard in Alps
Climbers Die in Blizzard in Alps
Jul 26, 2007 7:22 AM CDT

Climbers Die in Blizzard in Alps

Rescuers criticize unprepared group that ignored warnings

(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...

Highest Toilets In Europe Top Mont Blanc

In the Alps, they're striking a blow against yellow snow

(Newser) - Now there's a new reason to climb Mont Blanc—to experience Europe's highest-altitude toilets. Local officials installed the facilities for the over 30,000 climbers who trek up the 14,000-foot peak each year. The mayor of a nearby town explained that local snow was becoming a few shades tawnier...

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