First fatal fall on couloir du Gouter of the season
Unroped climber falls to his death on route down from Gouter refuge
A 65 year old man from Belfort, France, was found dead after a fall on the descent of the Goûter couloir on the Mont Blanc.
The man who had previous mountaineering experience was making his way down the steep slope at 7am on Sunday when he was said to have slipped at around 200 metres below the refuge. He was climbing with a German partner but the pair were not roped together, the alert was given to the PGHM rescue services but sadly they found the man's body lifeless some 500 metres further down.
The couloir du Goûter is reputed for it's risky traverse which is susceptible to rockfalls and difficult terrain underfoot.
A year ago Petzl put proposals together to secure the traverse which see's around 35000 mountaineers passing every year, however no plans have been authorised or confirmed as yet.
