The death couloir - Petzl Foundation

Let’s not resigns ourselves to fatality. Solutions exist. Together we can do more to decrease risks on the normal route to Mont-Blanc.

The Mont-Blanc rising to 4 809 meters is the highest peak in the Alps. It is also one of the deadliest summits in the world. To conquer the summit, the mountaineers must go to the “Grand couloir du Goûter” unavoidable on the normal route. I was dubbed, not without cause, the death couloir. Particularly dangerous because of the frequent rockfalls the death couloir and the Goûter edge were the scene of 102 mortal incidents between 1990 and 2017, nearly 4 deaths yearly.

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[pompeymonkey]

I am not a moutaineer.
But I love that the solution is to understand and forecast the mountain, rather than trying to control it.
Nature always wins! :)

[florianrudowable]

Couloir with high rockfall: "exists"
This guy: "this is not acceptable"
Ehm well :), no one is forcing you to climb the mountain.

[sebastianflynn]

I've passed through the death couloir a fair bit, always running to get my ass out of there as quickly as possible.

[whatsthetruth]

Freedom is priceless, if someone wants to climb it and they know the risk, then let them climb. I don’t care if you want to manage risk; but, don’t shut it down. Life isn’t safe, it was meant to be lived.

[Macmoree]

I’ve climbed the Mont Blanc in 2017 and reached the summit after 2 days. It is indeed a dangerous area. Be safe and Don’t let the summit fever catch you.

Dutch climber ❤️

[DaleClark]

Let's make it real safe, with maybe a tunnel that goes all the way to the top, and maybe a little train in it so mom & grandma will be comfortable, maybe a tea house at the summit.

[popstage]

No, Human self responsibility and freedom is priceless. Keep your baby sitting “unacceptability” to yourself

[robertmoulton]

You safety isn't a human right. In fact the right to risk your life is a human right . Feel free to risk it . But it's unrealistic for you to expect the rest of us to eliminate risk every where

[hmify]

Free nature comes with dangers and this dangers can claim lifes, but without free nature life is not worth living!
Leave the mountains as they are!

[VRT]

Just take the Italian route, which has also a nicer sightseeing, and avoid the dangerous Couloir du Gouter

[foobar]

The best solution would be to tear down the Gouter Hut to decrease the number of wannabe mountaineers on the mountain. This would also have the side effect of reducing traffic in the couloir

[BCmtb]

Anyone know what happened to the guy at 1:18 ?? Kinda lame they show that without an explanation

[merkin]

Darn mountain being a mountain when humans want to put a sidewalk in place....

[DerdOnner]

So obnoxiously screaming is a rockfall deterrent?

[jerrypolverino]

When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.

[hnhaha]

It's not decreasing risk, it's being more aware of it and it's patterns. that's the best a mountaineer can hope for when discussing natural phenomena, weather, etc. The only decreases in risk can come from gear, expertise, and fitness, all personal things.

[dukeengine]

Simply go another way. If it’s not feasible, just don’t do it unless you are exploring science. Mountain must not be for everyone, it’s not a mart.

[qupvwpo]

0:38 "and that is not acceptable" .. right, lets sue that damn couloir

[scout]

"Climbers know beforehand how dangerous it is to cross the feature. How can we make it less dangerous?"

Ummm...stop climbing that mountain, maybe? Just a thought.

[laurensm]

Even at 5am without daylight and while temperatures are below 0 you can hear small stuff falling, I can only imagine how ugly it can get when the sun has hit this gully for a few hours. Got a lot of dirty looks when I sat down right smack in the middle for a snickers though haha