A Mountain That Is Becoming Fragile
Following the rockfall at the Grand Pilier d’Angle, Italian mountain guides are warning of conditions that usually don’t occur until late August
Courmayeur – At the Grand Pilier d’Angle, the striking spur on the Brenva flank of Mont Blanc on the Italian side, a rope team was struck by a rock avalanche. One mountaineer was injured and flown by helicopter to the hospital in Aosta; according to rescue officials, his injuries are not serious. The Aosta Valley Mountain Rescue Service reached the scene of the accident quickly. It is one of many incidents of this kind in a summer that has plunged the high mountains into a state of emergency early on.
A few days earlier, a female mountain guide and her client had been killed by a rockfall in the Couloir du Goûter on the French side; the couloir is considered the most dangerous section of the standard route up Mont Blanc. On July 13, a large mass of rock broke loose from the Aiguille des Grands Charmoz. And as early as mid-June, seven mountaineers died in the Alps within a 24-hour period, including three climbers from Trentino on the north face of Gran Paradiso.
The reason for this increase is well known and has been described by experts for years. After a month and a half of persistent heat, the zero-degree line remains above the 4,000-meter mark for extended periods. The ice embedded in the rock—which holds the boulders together like glue—is thawing. Where the permafrost disappears, structures that have been stable for millennia are breaking apart. Added to this are glacier calving events and routes that are simply no longer passable.
The president of the National Mountain Guides Association put it simply: As early as the first half of July, conditions had already been encountered that used to be typical for the end of August. However, the guides cannot impose any closures. The chairman of the association in the Aosta Valley emphasizes that mountain guides have no authority whatsoever to open or close a route; they can only advise and cancel tours with their guests. Formal bans would be a matter for the authorities, who have so far refrained from taking action. In Switzerland, the mountain guides in Zermatt suspended guided ascents of the Matterhorn in mid-July because daytime temperatures remained above freezing even at the summit; similar measures were taken on the Italian side.
Figures from the National Mountain and Cave Rescue Service reflect this trend. In 2025, rescuers were dispatched 13,037 times—an increase of 8 percent over the previous year and the highest number ever recorded. 528 people lost their lives, a 13 percent increase. Nearly half of all incidents were due to falls, and the most common activity was simply hiking. Friday also ended tragically in the Aosta Valley: near Morgex, a hiker suffered a fatal accident at an altitude of about 2,400 meters.
