Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity along the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.) to encourage adaptation by mountaineers

• Published in: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
• Main Authors: Mourey, Jacques, Lacroix, Pascal, Duvillard, Pierre-Allain, Marsy, Guilhem, Marcer, Marco, Malet, Emmanuel, Ravanel, Ludovic
• Other Authors: Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne (UNIL), Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Gustave Eiffel-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (Fédération OSUG)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Environnements, Dynamiques et Territoires de Montagne (EDYTEM), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (Fédération OSUG), Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales (PACTE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble (IEPG), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society; Mont Blanc; permafrost
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03595872; https://hal.science/hal-03595872v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-03595872v1/file/nhess-22-445-2022.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-445-2022

International audience Abstract. There are on average 35 fatal mountaineering accidents per summer in France. On average, since 1990, 3.7 of them have occurred every summer in the Grand Couloir du Goûter, on the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.). Rockfall is one of the main factors that explain this high accident rate and contribute to making it one of the most accident-prone areas in the Alps for mountaineers. In this particular context, the objective of this study is to document the rockfall activity and its triggering factors in the Grand Couloir du Goûter in order to disseminate the results to mountaineers and favour their adaptation to the local rockfall hazard. Using a multi-method monitoring system (five seismic sensors, an automatic digital camera, three rock subsurface temperature sensors, a traffic sensor, a high-resolution topographical survey, two weather stations and a rain gauge), we acquired a continuous database on rockfalls during a period of 68 d in 2019 and some of their potential triggering factors (precipitation, ground and air temperatures, snow cover, frequentation by climbers). At the seasonal scale, our results confirm previous studies showing that rockfalls are most frequent during the snowmelt period in permafrost-affected rockwalls. Furthermore, the unprecedented time precision and completeness of our rockfall database at high elevation thanks to seismic sensors allowed us to investigate the factors triggering rockfalls. We found a clear correlation between rockfall frequency and air temperature, with a 2 h delay between peak air temperature and peak rockfall activity. A small number of rockfalls seem to be triggered by mountaineers. Our data set shows that climbers are not aware of the variations in rockfall frequency and/or cannot/will not adapt their behaviour to this hazard. These results should help to define an adaptation strategy for climbers. Therefore, we disseminated our results within the mountaineering community thanks to the full integration of our results ...