Two American climbers fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn this past weekend as they descended that mountain under poor weather conditions.
According to this report from The Alpinist, 53 year-old Vince Bousselaire and a 57 year-old female companion, both from Colorado, became separated from three other climbers, and were later found dead. It appears that Bousselaire slipped and fell some 300 feet, while his climbing partner had her rope caught on a rock, but then feel 80 feet to her death as well. The exact nature of the accident remains unknown at this time. The bodies were discovered at 13,100 feet and recovered by a search and rescue team.
Bousseliare is considered an experienced climber who has extensive time in the mountains in his home state. His climbing partner, whose name has not been released just yet, may have a similar climbing history, although her experience is unknown at this time.
The Matterhorn is amongst Europe's most famous and recognizable mountains. It is part of the Alps, and falls on the border of Italy and Switzerland, and stands 14,692 feet in height. The mountain was first summitted back in 1865 in an age when mountaineers were considered famous heroes on the continent. It later became a right of passage for many of Europe's top climbers, and even to this day remains a challenging climb that pulls in people from around the world.
My condolences to the friends and family.
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