Two mountaineers dead, another 9 injured, two of which seriously: this is the toll of the accident that took place this morning at an altitude of 3400 meters on the Grand Combin massif, on the border between Italy and Switzerland, at an altitude of 3400 meters. A series of seracs, that is gigantic fragments of glacier created by crevasses, collapsed on some groups of climbers, for a total of 17, who were climbing to the summit on the Swiss side along the so-called “Voie du Guardien”, the way of the guardian .
After the alarm raised at 6.20, a maxi rescue operation with seven helicopters from Air-Glaciers, Air-Zermatt and Rega, the Swiss Air-Rescue Guard, which transported about forty technicians to altitude The massif, in the territory of the Val de Bagnes, reaches 4,314 meters: it is the highest peak of the Alpine border between Mont Blanc and Dent d ‘Hérens.
The mountain is thirsty. The alarm from the shelters: “We are out of stock, summer at risk”
by Cristina Palazzo
26 Maggio 2022
The collapse took place in the “Plateau du Déjeuner” area, about 900 meters below the summit. The gigantic seracs, probably due to the high temperatures of these days, began to collapse and hit the climbers. “Two people died at the scene of the accident – explains the police of the canton of Valais – I am a 40-year-old French citizen and a 65-year-old Spanish”.
“Nine climbers – continues the police – were transported by plane to the hospital in Sion and to Chuv, the university hospital center in the Vaud region. Two of them are seriously injured. Other climbers were evacuated by helicopter from the place of the event. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Sion has opened an investigation.
The mountain is thirsty. The alarm from the shelters: “We are out of stock, summer at risk”
by Cristina Palazzo
26 Maggio 2022
The mountaineers had left a few hours earlier from the Cabane de la Panossière, a refuge at 2,650 meters above sea level which these days is open with caretaker on the occasion of the Grand Combin Week, one of the most fascinating and least frequented mountains in the Alps. La “Voie du Gardien “does not present great mountaineering difficulties but is insidious precisely because of the possibility of ice collapses.
The conditions of the mountain these days are not optimal due to the temperature rise of the last few days. The cantonal police of Sion invites the utmost caution: “When the freezing point is about 4,000 meters above sea level – reads a statement – it is better to be very careful or give up the excursion if in doubt. The golden rule is inquire in advance about the conditions of the chosen route and the weather conditions with the managers of the huts or with the mountain guides “.
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Words confirmed by the director of the Valle d’Aosta Alpine Rescue, Paolo Comune: “On the Grand Combin the fall of the serac was, as well as tragic, truly impressive: we gave our willingness to help but when the Swiss colleagues arrived at the site they saw that they did not it was necessary”. The collapse of the seracs, adds Comune, “may be linked to the unusual temperatures for the spring season, with freezing temperatures very high”.