© Rini Sugianto
The Gouter Refuge Saga Continues
An agreement between eight partners has been signed to ensure the opening
The uncertainty and discussion around the safety and opening of the Gouter Refuge on Mont Blanc has been ongoing since March, with various bodies across the region voicing opinions.
Finally eight separate guiding organisations have come together to sign an agreement that would ensure the safety of the 120 guests at the refuge should an emergency evacuation be necessary. The prefect (the State's representative in the region) requires that there is a ratio of one guide to ten clients present overnight and it is to that end that the eight organisations have have come together to offer the solution.
The guide offices of Chamonix, Saint-Gervais, Contamines, Megeve and Sallanches have all signed the agreement along with the AIGMB (independent association of Mont Blanc guides), and independent guiding companies Challenger and Chamonix Experience.
Despite recent assurances that the refuge would open as planned on 1st June 2015 we will now wait for the official decision from the departmental safety committee, who will study the FFCAM security plan based on the new proposal of the guiding partners.The new proposal corresponds to security requests from the state.
