A German climber was killed and an Austrian climber suffered multiple fractures after being hit by an avalanche of snow and rocks at Aguja Guillaume on the Cerro Fitz Roy Cordon in southern Italy. Argentina, this Friday (7) informed official sources.
The avalanche occurred on Thursday afternoon (6). A third climber, who was unharmed, managed to get down and call for help.
La Guillaume (2,574 m) is a satellite needle of the Fitz Roy or Cerro Chalten (3,405 m), located in the southern Patagonian ice region south of the Andes.
A source at the Andean center in El Chalten told AFP: “The man who died is German and is hospitalized in (…) El Calafate, Austria.”
The 28-year-old woman was rescued alive, and after an evacuation operation that lasted several hours, she was taken to a health checkpoint in El Chaltén, a city 2,600 km southwest of Buenos Aires, and later to a large was transferred to the hospital.
Finally, he was admitted to intensive care at the Samic Hospital in the city of El Calafate (2,750 km south-west).
“She had multiple fractures to her ribs, chest and neck and among the main injuries was a strong concussion in her right knee, but she was clear and stable,” said doctor Carolina Codo of local radio FM Dimensión.
Meanwhile, the dead body of a German climber was found this Friday.
About 45 rescue teams participated in the operation.
All three climbers were members of the International Union of Associations of Mountain Guides (UIAGM).
“Aguja Gilmette is the ideal introduction to the first alpine climb in Patagonia for experienced climbers. The terrain includes steep mines, ice and glaciers, ice climbing and rock climbing,” says specialist tour agency Mountaineering Patagonia on its website.
El Chalten Mountain Guides reports that Aguja is one of the first goals of a new climber in the Guillaume area—the rock, snow, wind, and weather they climb to get used to.
