A terrible tragedy...

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... -alps?lite

Not much consolation, but the four missing were two who didn't climb, and two who took a different route. Still nine gone. Including one who has been reported as a very experienced British Mountain guide.

http://www.thebmc.co.uk/mont-maudit-avalanche

Amongst the deceased is Roger Payne, former BMC General Secretary and former President of the British Mountain Guides. Condolonces to family & friends...

Please read the forum before adding a new thread, this topic was at least in two other threads

Bad weather has contributed to the loss of 2 climbers on the Dôme du Goûter
one Polish and the other Spanish

http://internacional.elpais.com/interna ... 19899.html (in Spanish)

When you talk about the world's deadliest mountains, Mount Blanc seems to kill many people each year. It has seen more fatalities than any other mountain I can think of.

Mt Washington has killed 100-something. Same with Rainier I think. Everest maybe has killed a few more.

But the number for Mount Blanc seems it would be a lot higher, because it seems to kill many people every single year.

Years ago,

A group of friends and I were staying at the old BLM sites outside of the meadows. Getting back late from a trip to Clark, we noticed all our camp chairs missing. The campers next to us yelled over, " you might as well join your chairs!"
Roger and a group of climbers (all of whom I had read about in a book or in old issues of MOUNTAIN magazine) swapped us the use of our chairs for enormous amounts of scotch. Over the next week we ran into the group at various climbs in the Meadows and always around the fire in the evening. The debates raged over quality and quantity of scotch, climbs, nations, cars, women, and fire wood. These guys burned any wood they scavenged. One creosote soaked log had driven us all back except for one of Rogers crew. All of us were stunned when a tar glob popped and landed on his leg. He did not move, not a peep out of him...Until he looked up, arched an eyebrow and said, "a lesser man would have flinched,"
Each day their rental van came back with a new battle scar.

We pulled up stakes before they did. I left them with my collection of Beach Boy cassettes and some old chairs. They left me with a love of scotch.

Gentle men one and all.

Tad

Good story, Tad! Sounds like a blast from the past of the days of the dirtbag climber. . . Good stuff.
Community makes it.

Old - Mont Blanc: six alpinistes bloqués depuis vendredi secourus au Dôme du Goûter - http://www.tendanceouest.com/national-6 ... istes.html

R.I.P Rodger.

http://www.economist.com/node/21559302