Rockfall due to panic - in Pirineo, beginners almost maimed other tourists on a three-thousander
During a summer climb of one of the three-thousander peaks in Pirineo, two young men with no previous experience in the mountains became separated on the route. One of them got trapped in a rock and couldn't move, while the other needed help from a group of Spanish climber Jorge Alcaraz to begin the descent.
While descending, the rescued young man became nervous and began to pick up and throw rocks at those below. Alcaraz and his companions had to urgently climb to the side of the slope, as debris flew dangerously close to people. Another tourist group, who was climbing the same route and found themselves under a rockfall, decided to abandon the climb and turned back.
Context
Aneto (3404 m) is the highest peak of Pirineos, located in the Spanish Posets-Maladeta Natural Park. Despite its popularity, the classic ascent of the mountain requires overcoming about 1500 meters of vertical drop through loose gravel, glacial sections and the final narrow rocky ridge of Paso de Magoma. In the summer season, due to the melting of the glacier and the mass flow of tourists, an increased risk of rockfalls is regularly recorded on the slopes of the Maladeta massif.