Climbers are shying away from the Voie Royale, Mount Blanc’s most popular route, in the aftermath of that has left the Couloir du Go没ter dangerous and unstable. The fall occurred on Wednesday after days of dry conditions and above-average temperatures loosened blocks of rock. A guide for British Mountain Guides who was when the slide occurred called it “totally unbelievable. Blocks were flying past us as we sprinted into the campground.” France’s Office de Haute Montagne, which oversees mountaineering on the peak, classified the Voie Royale as “fortement d茅conseill茅,” or “strongly discouraged,” although it is not formally closed. The rockfall also shut down part of the Mont Blanc Tramway; that closure is expected to continue until 2013.
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