French Deaths Highlight Danger of 'peak Hopping'

The deaths of four French climbers who attempted to scale a 7,242m (23,760ft) Himalayan summit after crossing illegally into Tibet has highlighted the high-risk culture of "peak hopping" in the growing adventure sport of mountaineering.

The group had bought a relatively inexpensive permit for 5,719m Mount Paldor, about 80km (50 miles) north of the capital, Kathmandu, which is described as a "straightforward climb". Instead they slipped across the Himalayas into China and attempted to scale the Tibetan face of Ganesh Himal 7, off-limits to climbers.

All four are believed to have died in an avalanche on the mountainside. The search for them was abandoned yesterday.

The men have not been sighted since mid-October, and authorities scrambled a helicopter to Paldor after another French team who were supposed to meet up with them in early November reported them missing.

The four have been identified as Stefan Cieslar, Jean-Baptiste Moreau, Raphael Perrissin and Vincent Villedieu. They were all experienced mountaineers and did not use local guides, as most expeditions do.

Nepalese climbers say the phenomenon of "peak hopping" is now rampant. "Only a few peaks are open for climbers on the Nepal-China border. These [climbers] just take a permit for one mountain and then climb another," said Deebas Shah, the general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. "In this case it was Ganesh Himal 7, which is not open to climbers."

Mr Shah, whose association issues permits for Nepal's mountains, said: "At least 25% [of mountaineers] in Nepal are [climbing] illegally. Now the bodies of the French [climbers] will never be recovered. They are lost on the Tibetan side."

Apart from sidestepping the bureaucracy and the steep fees for climbing mountains - a group of four would have to pay $25,000 (£12,940) to scale Everest - the thrill for mountaineers comes in tackling the unconquered, off-limits peaks on the roof of the world.

Mr Shah said the only fear for many climbers was the risk of being stuck on a mountain without any way of calling for help. But he said that this disregard for personal safety was the reason many did it. "We caught five last year. There's a fine about the same as a permit. But most don't care. There's no risk of being jailed."