Pole theft on Mont Blanc: climber Christophe Proffitt fined 600 euros

Christophe Proffitt, a Chamonix high mountain guide and famous mountaineer, was sentenced on Monday, June 5, by the Criminal Court of Bonneville (Haute-Savoie) to pay a fine of 600 euros for theft, after he removed piles of metal from the so-called Mont Blanc normal route, summer 2022. However, the court acquitted him of the theft of two of the four piles planted in the territory of neighboring Italy, which he did not file a complaint.

M^e The mountaineer’s lawyer, Laurent Tuveno, informed about it the world that his client, who claimed the character “ activist On April 20, there will be a court hearing about his actions “probably a call” of this decision semitone “. The prosecution was asking for a fine of 4,000 euros, including a suspension of 3,000 euros; Mr. Profit’s lawyer was asking for a release.

Christophe Proffitt, now 62 and a member of the prestigious Chamonix Guides Company, has led many famous solo climbs on some of the most technical and dizzying walls of the Alps in the 1980s from June 10 to July 13, 2022. Four anchorages, two of which were installed in the French territory and two in the Italian border area, on the normal route of Mont Blanc (4807 meters).

Purchased by the town hall of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, the town on which this route is located, these installations were carried out by the joint decision of the guide companies of Saint-Gervais and Chamonix and the Haute-Savoie prefecture. , in order to “protection” One of two routes bypassing the rift was recently formed near the Bose Ridge, about 4,600 meters above sea level.

After rooting them out, Christophe Proffitt sent an email to Jean-Marc Peilleux, mayor since 2001 of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains without the label. He, moreover, publicized his action before publicly returning one of the piles. Chosen, the day of the Festival of Guides, celebrated annually in the valleys of Mont Blanc, to remember, in particular, the values ​​underlying the spirit of climbing, sharing and solidarity.

“Avoid excessive risks”

On April 20, at a hearing where the municipality of Saint-Gervais was not represented, Christophe Profi justified the dismantling of the piles by saying they were misleading about 200 plaintiffs about their safety. The peak of Mont Blanc, which crosses daily, in the summer, on this reduced section of a few tens of meters. It was his intention Avoid excessive risk “.