The first ten seconds of this video is some freaking terrifying footage. Lethal rockfalls are fact of life in the Grand couloir du Goûter but a group of 12 researchers are hard at work collecting data using everything from ground thermometers to traffic sensors to contribute knowledge and help make informed decisions. Gnarly spot to do some science:
“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.”
