As many of you already know, our friend Olivier has been stuck on the descent of the Grandes Jorasses for the past 6 days .  He had climbed the North face via the Linceul route and summitted via the exit couloir.  He was guiding an experienced climber that he knows well, and upon reaching the summit, the client's advaned state of fatigue did not allow her to tackle the descent.  Olivier set up a bivouac in order to protect them from the elements and called for rescue support.  Since Friday morning, no one has had contact with him and/or his client.  Their telephone is no longer charged.  Multiple attempts have been made to reach them, using either helicopter and/or land approaches;however, to date all attempts have been unsuccessful.  Terrible weather and heavy snow fall has not helped the situation.  We are thinking of Olivier and his client, Charlotte, and we dearly hope that we will see them again soon!  Hang in there guys...

It is with great sadness that we heard the news about the the CMBH helicopter crash today in Barberine.  The pilot and the 3 passengers onboard were killed in this tragic accident.  We send out our deepest sympathy to the friends and families of the victims and share their pain. We also send out our support to the CMBH helicopter company who has lost 2 of its team members.