French mayor to ask Mont Blanc climbers for €15,000 rescue and funeral deposit

Mayor of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains imposed measure after dozens of pseudo-mountaineers' ignored warnings

Climbers attempting to reach the summit of Mont Blanc from a popular path in France will have to pay a 15,000 (12,640) deposit to cover costs in case they need to be rescued, or worse, die.

Jean-Marc Peillex, the mayor of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, from where climbers can make it to the top of the highest peak in Europe via the Gouter Route, imposed the measure in response to dozens defying warnings and engaging in what he described as a game of Russian roulette".