Archive for Cluses

les naufragés d’Angolon

Posted in Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on August 16, 2025 by xi'an

Over the vacation break, I watched this video of testimonies from survivors of Haut-Giffre ultra-trail, on 15 June 2024, when weather turns deadly on the most dangerous section of the race, down from Angolon Peak, 2090m, between Cluses, France, and Martigny, Switzerland. Several trailers slipped on the steep, muddy slope and crashed into rocks. One of them did not survive his injuries, despite the support of other trailers. In a place and under conditions where no emergency service could have made a difference. I was a wee bit surprised at hearing that one of the Ben Nevis trail runs got cancelled by the organisers last year (?), despite remembering a death on the Ring of Steall the very day we rounded it (and having turned back on enough mountain climbs), but this video is slamming the fact in my face to never again wonder. One error of the organisers of the Haut-Giffre ultra-trail was to have waited much too long before cancelling the races. Another one was not imposing crampons in the compulsory gear.