Saturday, December 28All That Matters

Mountain climber gets stuck in path of a rock collapse for 3 minutes.

18 Comments

  • >Rock Collapse on the Goûter Route/Goûter Couloir (Grand Couloir). Also known as the “Corridor of Death” or “Gully of Death”
    The accident captured on the way down from Mont Blanc, July 2020.
    Luckily all ended well, the climber was rescued later by helicopter.
    >
    >Goûter Route is the one of the two normal mountaineering routes used to reach the Mont-Blanc summit, and the most popular one.
    Crossing the Grand Couloir is very dangerous, mainly because of falling rocks or ice.
    From 1990 to 2011, the PGHMF registers show 291 rescue operations in the Goûter couloir, which resulted in 74 deaths and 180 injuries and from 1990 to 2017 347 rescue operations resulted in 102 deaths and 230 injuries.
    It means on average, 3.7 fatal accidents per summer season, representing the highest frequency in the Alps.

  • In videos like this, I always wish someone would hold something that works as a plumb bob (lanyard, whatever) to let our brains correct for whatever vertical is supposed to be.

    Video always looks flat, because even if filmed square to the horizon, our brains just want to interpret everything as level. As soon as we see a visual indicator of gravity they click into place and go “Oh, so that’s straight up”.

    Most of this video is the opposite, it’s filmed to look not nearly as steep as it really is.

    Don’t the rocks seem to be moving way too fast for the slope?

    Well, near the end you can see the guy close the camera standing up straight. Tilt your head to that angle, that’s up and down. Hill is steep as fuck!

  • I don’t know much about climbing, but she sure look like she assumed the best position she could, using the pack as a shield. The one time she poked her head out (2:40), she got clobbered.

  • Since OP didn’t provide the description:

    Rock Collapse on the Goûter Route/Goûter Couloir (Grand Couloir). Also known as the “Corridor of Death” or “Gully of Death”

    The accident captured on the way down from Mont Blanc, July 2020.

    Luckily all ended well, the climber was rescued later by helicopter.

    Goûter Route is the one of the two normal mountaineering routes used to reach the Mont-Blanc summit, and the most popular one.

    Crossing the Grand Couloir is very dangerous, mainly because of falling rocks or ice.

    From 1990 to 2011, the PGHMF registers show 291 rescue operations in the Goûter couloir, which resulted in 74 deaths and 180 injuries and from 1990 to 2017 347 rescue operations resulted in 102 deaths and 230 injuries.

    It means on average, 3.7 fatal accidents per summer season, representing the highest frequency in the Alps.

  • That made me so angry. Just stay stop moving. You don’t need to say anything or do anything or tell anybody anything. Just wait for the rocks to stop falling. I’m the one who ate the last slice of cheesecake BOOM rock to the neck.

  • Scary! I didn’t even know this was a thing. Where are all the rocks falling from? Do the rocks that fall down hit other rocks and make them fall too? Glad nothing like a giant bolder came down or something. As scary as it is though, the sounds of the rocks is really pleasant.

  • And that’s why you don’t pass there after sunrise. The sun will heat up and melt ice at the top that will come loose and then you end up like this.

    The flat rocks will roll down like a wheel and when they hit a bump they will start flying to the sides like frisbees. That’s why you don’t stick your head out even if you’re really far to the side.

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