Jean-Marc Peillex, the mayor of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, from where climbers can reach the summit of Europe’s highest peak via the Goûter route, imposed the measure in response to dozens of defying warnings and engaging in what described as “a game of Russian roulette”. The finer details specify that €10,000 would cover the cost of a rescue and €5,000 for a funeral. Local guides suspended their activities along the route, which is accessible to climbers of all skill levels, in mid-July due to heavy rockfall, with the local administration strongly advising people to avoid it. An intense, prolonged heatwave has made conditions on the mountain more dangerous. In a statement posted on Twitter, Peillex said dozens of “false mountaineers” ignored the warnings. He described how five Romanian visitors attempted the climb “wearing shorts, trainers and straw hats” and had to be turned back by mountain police. “People want to climb with death in their backpacks,” he added. “So let’s budget for the cost of rescuing them and burying them, because it’s unacceptable that French taxpayers are footing the bill.” The summit can also be reached by taking the Ratti trail from Courmayeur, on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, although it is much less used. However, Roberto Rota, the mayor of Courmayeur, said he has no plans to restrict access. “The mountain is not property,” he said. “We, as managers, can limit ourselves to reporting sub-optimal conditions along the routes, but asking for an advance to get to the top is really surreal.” Debate over the safety of mountain activities this summer has intensified amid the heatwave and since 11 people were killed when a huge mass of ice broke off a glacier on the north face of Marmolada, the highest peak in the Italian Dolomites, in early July . Mayors of towns surrounding Marmolada have closed key access points due to safety concerns, but some climbers have tried to circumvent the ban. On Thursday, a path leading to Monte Cervino from the Italian side was temporarily closed after 13 climbers were rescued after a landslide. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST More than 100 people have died on the Goûter route in the last 20 years. French mountain guides, who suspended their activities until August 15, described “witnesses of falling rocks throughout the day and night”. Dry conditions in the Alps have been exacerbated by light snowfall during the winter and spring, temperatures that have been above normal.
