Italian guides halt Mont Blanc climbs as heatwave threatens Alpine tourism
Mountain guides in Courmayeur have stopped selling ascents of Mont Blanc due to dangerous thawing permafrost, cutting off a key summer revenue stream for Alpine tourism businesses.
Italian mountain guides have officially suspended all client ascents of Mont Blanc from the Courmayeur side, citing rapid deterioration in safety conditions caused by extreme June heat.
The decision directly impacts the commercial operations of alpine guide companies in the Aosta Valley during their peak season. "With the heat we had in June, conditions deteriorated quickly. It's no longer safe enough to take clients up there," said Alex Campedelli, president of the Courmayeur Guides Society.
The professional body decided last week to halt sales for the Italian ascent. "The glacier is full of crevasses and it's hard to find the right route. We decided last week we won't sell that ascent to clients anymore," Campedelli explained.
This closure forces a shift in a significant regional tourism market. Around 20,000 people attempt the ascent each year, relying heavily on professional guides. However, the majority of these climbers already depart from the French side because the Italian route is regarded as more challenging.
By removing the Italian option entirely, local businesses are now cut off from this summer trade. Climbers looking to tackle the peak can still do so from the French side, though that route carries its own recent history of climate-driven disruption. The French route was last closed in 2022 specifically because of the danger of falling rocks.
The safety risks are extending across the broader Alpine region. Switzerland has already recommended climbers do not try to tackle routes up the Matterhorn.
"On the Mont Blanc and Matterhorn routes, we simply need to have the humility to stop them for a while," said Pierre Mathey of the Swiss Association of Mountain Guides (ASGM). "This heatwave is dragging on and we're seeing significant warming of the ground, snow and ice are melting, and the permafrost is thawing," he added, noting that this is causing rockfalls and other hazards that increasingly threaten high-altitude tourism operations.
