Climbers will have to pay for a permit to attempt Mont Blanc and possibly be forced to take a guide. This could be a future scenario if Jean-Marc Peillex, Mayor of Saint Gervais, gets his way.

Following in the wake of the much publicised avalanche incident on Mt Blanc du Tacul, which resulted in the deaths of eight climbers, and the unseasonably large number of fatalities this year in the Mont Blanc Massif, the notoriously outspoken Peillex has once again called for regulating the number of climbers on 4,808m Mont Blanc.

It was in 2006 that the Mayor first made the proposal that access to this overpopulated mountain be regulated. Basing his argument on environmental concerns and the number of inexperienced climbers frequenting the peak, Peillex suggested limiting access strictly to mountaineers who pre-booked and were accompanied by guides. Of course, it was shot down by most of the local community, who not only rely on Alpinism for their livelihood but, more important, also feel it is simply not in the spirit of mountaineering.

Peillex's particular concern is the amount of rubbish and human excrement on the standard routes. This, he notes, is especially bad in the vicinity of the overcrowded Gouter Hut, where people camp, sometimes for several days, before following the traditional Normal Route to the summit. Having realized that climbers are obliged to book, and pay for, a peak permit in Nepal, he argues why the same should not apply to Mont Blanc. Authorities would then be able to regulate numbers, currently reported to be around 30,000 a year and growing. And why not have them accompanied by a professional, who would ensure the preservation of the mountain environment?

The mayor has already won a national environmental award for his work to clean up Mont Blanc and this year saw the placement of two public toilets above 4,200m on the mountain. Made by a French company, the dry toilets are reported to have cost 145,000 euros and are the highest in Europe.

Should Peillex's threats be taken seriously? Well in 2004 scientists from the Laboratoire de Glaciologie de Géophysique et l’Environnement proved conclusively that the summit of Mont Blanc lay within Saint Gervais territory. The Mayor immediately declared that the name Saint Gervais – Mont Blanc would begin to see common usage, giving him possible governance over the mountain.

Bringing Nepalese bureaucracy to the Alps may seem far fetched but to look at a parallel scenario, earlier this year the Rarakiroa Guiding Company of New Zealand announced they were planning to offer clients 'fixed rope' guiding in the New Zealand Alps, just as is practiced on the high peaks of the Himalaya. Advertising the proposal, director Steve Rainsbury said they would helicopter clients to the base of Mt Tasman, fix ropes for clients all the way to the summit and then helicopter them out, giving 'even those with no real mountaineering experience the opportunity to reach the top of one of New Zealand's iconic mountains in a short time scale'.

Well naturally, there was immediate outrage, then disbelief........until the date of the announcement was realized - April 1st.

Is such a decline in style inevitable? Surely it couldn't happen in the European Alps..........could it?

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