Another hiker has died on the mountain peak of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, the fifth in just one day on the popular trail.
Per CBS News, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, an unidentified 61-year-old man fell 100 feet to his death after slipping from the trail he was walking through, which was described as a steep area near Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in the Haute-Savoie department of eastern France, according to local officials.
The Danish man’s death comes just one day after four other hikers, two Koreans and two Italians, “died from exhaustion” on Mont Blanc after being stranded on the mountain’s highest peak for several days in harsh weather conditions, CBS noted in another report.
Following the back-to-back deaths, Jean-Marc Peillex, mayor of the nearby town Saint-Gervais called for an end to hiker trips and halt the marketing of Mont Blanc as a tourist destination.
“Tour companies who have pretty young women selling Mont Blanc as if it was no more dangerous than the London or Paris marathon are responsible for deaths,” Peillex said per The Times.
“You can’t make Mont Blanc less dangerous. There will always be falls of rock and seracs [blocks of glacial ice]. That’s just bad luck, but you could stop people going up in extreme weather,” the mayor added.
The five deaths this week on Mont Blanc adds to the shocking number of fatalities, as now at least 12 died this summer, per The Times.
Mayor Peillex warned that years of experience is needed before hikers attempt to climb the peak, saying “People think Mont Blanc is technically easy but in reality it’s a challenging climb that requires extensive mountaineering experience.”
He continued, adding that “Even if you think you’re a really good climber capable of tackling Mont Blanc, you have to have the humility to take a guide. If you’re not ready for it, the guide will tell you.”
