Fatal accident at Mont-Blanc: who was Adèle Milloz, world ski mountaineering champion found dead in the massif?
Adèle Milloz, a promising figure in ski mountaineering, died during the ascent of the Aiguille du Peigne in the Mont-Blanc massif on Friday. She served as a guide for a client in her thirties, also found dead.
This ascent did not present any major difficulty for someone accustomed to the mountains like Adèle Milloz. The emergency services specified that the accident was not linked to a rock fall or a landslide. The gendarmes of the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) have opened an investigation.
For this purpose, she underwent further training. And it was during one of them that the tragedy happened. Adele Milloz climbed with a 30-year-old guide. The former champion was close to completing the course and obtaining the appropriate qualifications.
According to The Times, the women were tied together with a rope while climbing. Their bodies were found by other climbers. The bereaved is the Chamonix tour guides’ association.
“We will always miss her smile. We feel endless sadness. Adele was a great young woman,” says Oliver Greber, president of the association.
An experienced mountaineer
The 26-year-old girl was crowned with several world, European and national titles in ski mountaineering. She was also particularly fond of paragliding.
At the age of six, she began ski touring thanks to her father, a mountain guide and her mother, a ski instructor.
Her career began in 2011 when Thierry Galindo, the current coach of the French ski mountaineering team, spotted her during a federal internship in Tignes. But it was in March 2012 that she won her first silver medal at the European Championships.
Gendarme then mountain guide at the end of the summer
She had joined the ranks of the PGHM as a volunteer gendarme in 2015 when she was not yet 20 years old. She was then able to participate in the Military World Games in Sochi in 2017 where she won two gold medals.
In 2018, Adèle Milloz had climbed the snowy slopes of Etna and won her senior European title. Subsequently, she had put her career as a sportswoman and policeman on hold in order to obtain her guide diploma.
She was due to take the final exam at the end of the summer, becoming the youngest female guide in France. For several years, she has been committed to promoting the mountains to women, in particular by supervising 100% female courses.
Her death adds to the list of ski mountaineers who have disappeared in the mountains in recent years. Stéphane Brosse died on June 17, 2012 at the Aiguille d’Argentière and Idriss Hirsh died at only 23 years old on the Eiger on March 19, 2015.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
