Thread: Nine Mont Blanc climbers killed in avalanche in Cham

Struck me as an odd statement:

Chamonix mayor Jean-Louis Verdier told Reuters news agency the avalanche was completely unexpected.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18688871

Roger Payne, a very experienced mountaineer and mountain guide, among the dead

http://www.thebmc.co.uk/mont-maudit-avalanche
http://www.thebmc.co.uk/roger-payne-...ck-on-his-life

Roger was a nice guy.

Originally Posted by splat

Struck me as an odd statement:

Chamonix mayor Jean-Louis Verdier told Reuters news agency the avalanche was completely unexpected.

we have been having pretty cool and wet weather lately. snow accumulation and strong winds created huge windloading. not something normal for the middle of summer.

lots of photos and a video here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

all of the experience in the world, or none at all can and will kill you. tragic. rip

rog

So this is all about armchair QB-ing right? I showed my kid an article on this tragedy and said that this is how people get killed in the mountains. My facts may be a little off but:
- it was raining monsoon like amounts in the valleys
- the snow line was about 10,000'
- the summit is around 14,500'
- the avy started around 13,000
- there was serious amounts of new snow falling & blowing around, enough that cornices were starting to form
OK, so why do you go out and start climbing @ 1am when all this fresh snow is around? How can this avy be described as "unexpected" given the amount of new snow up high and that fact that following the dump there would be significant fast warming (you'd think given the fact that it's bloody summer)?

Condolences to the friends & families affected.

This is a pretty good obit for Roger Payne:
http://www.economist.com/node/21559302

Originally Posted by garyfromterrace

So this is all about armchair QB-ing right? I showed my kid an article on this tragedy and said that this is how people get killed in the mountains. My facts may be a little off but:
- it was raining monsoon like amounts in the valleys
- the snow line was about 10,000'
- the summit is around 14,500'
- the avy started around 13,000
- there was serious amounts of new snow falling & blowing around, enough that cornices were starting to form
OK, so why do you go out and start climbing @ 1am when all this fresh snow is around? How can this avy be described as "unexpected" given the amount of new snow up high and that fact that following the dump there would be significant fast warming (you'd think given the fact that it's bloody summer)?

Condolences to the friends & families affected.

I think your facts are a little off. Consensus seems to be that the avalanche was triggered by a serac fall and there isn't much you can do about that other than stay out of the way of seracs as much as you can

http://www.planetmountain.com/englis...=2&keyid=39800

Originally Posted by Arno

I think your facts are a little off. Consensus seems to be that the avalanche was triggered by a serac fall and there isn't much you can do about that other than stay out of the way of seracs as much as you can

http://www.planetmountain.com/englis...=2&keyid=39800

Thanks for that (I agree my facts were lacking). Good article link as well, explains much more than I knew before.