Two Top Alpinists Die on Aiguille du Plan in Chamonix

Top alpinists Max Bonniot and Pierre Labbre died on Aiguille du Plan near Mount Blanc in Chamonix. Their bodies were found at the base of a gully by a search and rescue team in a helicopter. It was reported that they left yesterday morning for the Bonington Route V M7, but had not been heard from.

Bonnoit, 31, was a member of Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne military corps and Labbre was a mountain guide. The two experienced climbers had established new routes around the work and repeated some of the most difficult, including the Southeast Ridge on Cerro Torre earlier this year.

Labbre had climbed a new route on Latok II and the 7,134-metre peak called Gauri Shanker in the Himalayas. Bonniot made the first ascent of the east face of Siula Grande in 2016 and in 2018 climbed Golden Gate 5.13 on El Capitan. Jeff Mercier and Korra Pesce made the first free ascent of the Bonington Route in 2014.

 

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Dernière pitch du Headwall au Torre, @pierrelabbre révise ses tailles de Friends ? ? . . . . On est en soutient derrière avec @leo_billon à la nuisance… . . . #Drpierrelabbre #Mrpeterlabber #bientotquadra #fourchetteroyale #ecolerusse #chess.com #grandroque #leroi #coupduberger #arkoseclimbing #cestduviolet #lastpitch #nuisance #coursedarete #initiateurcaf #jeanwilli #lamontagnecestextrêmeoupayé #friends #cordee #bonnesvibes

A post shared by Max Bonniot (@maxbonniot) on Jan 24, 2019 at 10:47am PST