French Mayor Threatens €15,000 Deposit to Climb Mont Blanc
5th August 2022
A French mayor says conditions on Mont Blanc are now so dangerous that climbers should pay a €15,000 (£12,640; $15,370) deposit to cover rescue and possible funeral costs.
Jean-Marc Peillex is mayor of Saint-Gervais, a village at the foot of Western Europe’s highest mountain, whose summit is at 4,807m (15,774ft).
Those who ignored warnings and took the Goûter route up the mountain were playing “Russian roulette”, he said.
I think that’s a great idea. Nothing is more common these days than bozos heading up a mountain or into a wilderness who ought to be in a city somewhere, and the first thing they do when their incompetence does its thing is to call on public authorities for help or rescue.
Mayor Peillex said the average cost of a rescue on the mountain was €10,000 and funeral costs were €5,000. “It is unacceptable for the French taxpayer to cover those costs,” he said in a press release.
Would that American politicians were as sensible.