A 26-year-old ski mountaineer died on Mont Blanc on Friday while climbing the mountain with a friend. She won a world championship in 2017.
World champion skier Adele Milloz died on Friday while climbing Mont Blanc in the Alps, reports confirmed over the weekend.
The 26-year-old was climbing on the mountain with a friend when the pair experienced a catastrophic fall, Snow Brains reported. According to mountain guides the outlet sourced, she and her companion were traversing from Aiguille de Peigne (10,472 feet) to nearby peak Aiguille du Midi (12,605 feet).
What led to the accident was unclear as of this writing. Other mountaineers saw the fall and raised the alarm — then required evacuation themselves after going into shock, Sky News reported.
Milloz made a name for herself as a ski mountaineer, which involves hiking up a mountain and then skiing back down. A native of Tignes in the French Alps, she won the world championship in 2017. Milloz also won a European Champion in 2018.
Recently, the athlete decided to take a break from the sport to pursue training as a mountain guide. (Ski mountaineering will make its debut in the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milan Cortina.)
#Disparition ❄️ Émotion suite au décès en montagne d’Adèle Milloz, championne de ski alpinisme. De 2015 à 2019, Adèle Milloz avait été gendarme au #PGHM de Bourg-Saint-Maurice et de Modane. Nos sincères condoléances à sa famille, soutien à ses proches et à ses anciens camarades. pic.twitter.com/M9xjiqjlUi
— Gendarmerie nationale (@Gendarmerie) August 14, 2022
It’s a profound tragedy to lose Milloz, said Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, France’s minister for sports and the Olympics, said Sunday on Twitter.
“Deeply saddened by the death of ski mountaineering champion Adèle Milloz in Mont-Blanc, at the age of 26, and of the woman who was by her side,” Oudéa-Castéra wrote in a post translated from French. “I extend my deepest condolences to her family, loved ones, her colleagues from the National School of Skiing and Mountaineering in Chamonix.”
Authorities have been advising climbers against visiting the Alps this year as record heat makes the mountains more dangerous. Officials have closed refuges, canceled guided trips, and recommended that climbers don’t climb solo. It’s unclear what role the changing conditions on Mont Blanc played in the incident.
