モンブラン登山の「変人」対策を！　仏町長が大統領に訴え

【グルノーブルＡＦＰ＝時事】アルプス山脈にある欧州最高峰モンブランの登山客らが問題行動を繰り返しているとして、近郊にあるフランスの町の町長がエマニュエル・マクロン大統領宛てに公開書簡を出し、モンブランに登る「変人」対策を講じるよう訴えた。先週には英国人観光客が、モンブラン山中にトレーニングマシンを放置していったという。（写真は資料写真）
　以前から同山の過密状態に警鐘を鳴らしてきた、サンジェルベレバンのジャンマルク・ペイエ町長によると、先月３１日には、英海兵隊員がパフォーマンスとしてトレーニングマシンを担いで山に持ち込んだ。
　ところがこの男性は、マシンを持って下りる力がなくなったとして、標高４３６２メートルに位置する緊急避難用の山小屋に置き去りにしたという。
　この男性はディズニーと名乗ったとされ、これについてペイエ町長は１日に出した公開書簡で「こういう名前だけに遊園地気分だったのではと、あなたも思うでしょう」とつづった。
　同じ週末にはさらに、犬連れのドイツ人観光客が、夏の繁忙期に登山ルートをパトロールしている憲兵隊員らに何度も注意され、頂上に挑戦する前には犬を安全な所に置いていくと約束していたにもかかわらず、犬と一緒に登頂した事例にも言及。
　男性は真夜中にこっそり犬を連れて登頂し、犬は生還したものの足の裏が血まみれだったという。
　また６月には、スイス人登山客２人がモンブランの頂上のすぐ東側に小型飛行機を着陸させ、そこから頂上を目指して歩き始めたこともあったという。
　憲兵隊が２人を制止したが、違反したのは１９６０年代に制定された同域における航空機の着陸地に関する法律のみだったことから、わずか３８ユーロ（約４４００円）の罰金の支払いを命じられただけで、離陸が認められたという。
　「こういう状況が長く続いている、もうたくさんだ！」と書簡に書いたペイエ町長は、マクロン大統領に対し「法律違反を犯す変人らを来年から厳罰に処する法案を成立させ、モンブランに平和を取り戻す」よう促した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/09/04-09:08）

The mayor of Chamonix in the French Alps has urged President Emmanuel Macron to act against wackos climbing the nearby Mont Blanc, after a series of incidents including a British tourist abandoning a rowing machine on the famed mountain.
Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex, who for years has sounded the alarm against overcrowding on Europe's highest peak, said a member of Britain's Royal Commandos hauled up the exercise machine for a stunt on Saturday.
But he did not have the strength to bring it back down and left it in an emergency hut situated at 4,362 metres (14,300 feet).
The man gave his name as Disney -- with a name like that, you'd think he thought he was at an amusement park, Peillex said in an open letter published Sunday.
Also over the weekend, he added, a German tourist made the ascent with his dog despite warnings from police brigades who patrol Mont Blanc routes during the busy summer season, and a promise that he would leave the dog at a refuge before attempting the summit.
Instead, the tourist snuck out for the top in the middle of the night with the dog who survived but returned with bloodied paws, according to photos posted on Peillex's Twitter account.
The weekend incidents came after two Swiss climbers in June landed a small plane just east of Mont Blanc's summit and then started hiking to the top.
Stopped by the mountain police, they were given only a 38-euro ($42) fine and allowed to fly off, since technically they had only broken laws from the 1960s setting out landing sites in the area.
This situation has gone on long enough! Peillex said in his letter.
He called on Macron to write and pass laws without delay that from 2020 would severely punish all these wackos who break the law, and restore peace to Mont Blanc.
Officials are already grappling with a huge influx of climbers hoping to scale the 4,809-meter-high peak, which has sharply increased security risks as well as environmental impacts.
Warmer temperatures in recent years have melted permafrost, raising the risk of rock falls on the most popular routes.
Retreating glaciers, which are melting under the effect of higher temperatures, are also leaving the granite slopes more vulnerable and less supported.
In May, officials banned climbers from scaling Mont Blanc unless they had booked a room in one of the three official shelters.
The Alpine peak now attracts nearly 25,000 climbers every year, but the daily crowds have led to flaring tempers among teams jockeying for position, and rampant illegal camping.
So far this season at least three climbers have died on Mont Blanc.