Scots snowboarder killed after Alps fall
Scots adventurer just yards from safety tumbles over 3600ft cliff Scots drug dealers jailed for 60 years
A SCOTS snowboarder was killed after plummeting 3600ft from a ridge near Mont Blanc. John Lamb, 34, from Glasgow, and a French companion, fell when trying to reach the 12,460ft-high Aiguille du Midi cable car station for shelter in a storm. Andy Courtney, owner of the Chamonix And Beyond travel company, who knew Mr Lamb, said: “I know he had been on specialist off-piste courses. It’s very sad.”
A SCOTS snowboarder has died after falling 3600ft from a mountain ridge in the Mont Blanc massif.
John Lamb, an IT consultant, fell as he and a French companion tried desperately to reach the Aiguille du Midi summit cable car station for shelter after being caught in a snowstorm.
The divorcee aged 34 from Glasgow slipped off a narrow pathway just 65ft from the station and fell down the north face of the 12,460ft Aiguille du Midi.
His French companion successfully made his way back up to the cable car station, near the summit of mountain above Chamonix in France, guided by directions from a cable-car worker.
Earlier in the morning they had attempted the Vallée Blanche, one of the world’s most famous offpiste descents, with a drop of 8800ft, but were forced to abandon equipment and turn back due to strong winds and heavy snow.
Andy Courtney, owner of the Chamonix And Beyond adventure travel company, was shocked by the death. He knew Mr Lamb and said he was an experienced snowboarder.
“I know he had been on specialist off-piste courses, because he had been on one when I met him. It’s very sad,” said Mr Courtney. “The nightwatchman in the cable car station was trying to guide them back to him by phone, because it was too dangerous for the mountain rescue helicopter to go up in the snowstorm.
“The first man made
it back safely, and John was apparently almost there when he slipped.”
The University of Glasgow graduate helped develop the online shop of the Edinburghbased Hannah Zakari jewellery and fashion boutique. He had gone to the French resort for the winter to enjoy the mountains while doing IT work remotely.
He was planning to return to Edinburgh by the end of May.
He tweeted before his departure in December: “I’m moving to France on Tuesday *panics*.
“I’m excited! It’s for five months, running away for a bit. Just need to learn French and pack now.”
The two snowboarders were some way down the descent when the weather worsened. They made a snow-hole for shelter before seeking refuge. They were hampered by strong winds giving a wind-chill equivalent to -16˚C.
Captain Patrice Ribes of the local mountain rescue force, said: “He would have been exhausted from the climb. The winds were very high and the visibility poor. We do not know exactly how he fell. We have not found his body.”
Capt Ribes said that the Vallee Blanche was a popular route for competent skiers, but winds could make it dangerous.
The ridge at the top of the Aiguille de Midi is one of the most dangerous points on the route. Sheer slopes fall away from it. On the north, the drop is uninterrupted for hundreds of metres.
Mr Courtney said: “I was thinking of going up there myself on Saturday morning as I passed the cable car and it was rammed with tourists and off-piste skiers.
“Chamonix is known for its lateseason snow, and a lot of the seasonal workers who remain in the resort were heading up there.
“But there’s an awful lot of snow at the moment – we attempted Mont Blanc a few weeks ago and had to turn back because of the high risk of avalanches.” SCOTS members of a cross-border drugs ring that flooded Glasgow and surrounding towns with up to £200 million of hard drugs have been jailed for a total of 60 years and eight months.
The sentences are among the last to be handed down at Liverpool Crown Court as a result of Operation Blenheim, with police claiming a significant victory over organised crime.
Thomas Wallace, 45, was sentenced to 12 years and eight mo n t h s ; John O’Donnell, 25, to six years and eight months; and Terence Mooney, 58, to eight years. All three are from Greenock.
Four Glasgow men were also jailed. Martin Feeley, 28, was sentenced to 11 years and four months; Michael Cook, 28, seven years and six months; Paul Cochrane, 25, six years and eight months; and Gary Curran, 45, seven years and four months.
Alexander Caldwell, 24, also of Glasgow, is yet to be sentenced.
Operation Blenheim, the investigation by the Titan organised crime group in north-west England, has led to 270 years imprisonment so far for the 30-strong gang.
At the time of the arrests in October last year, Police Scotland’s Detective Superintendent Andy Gunn said gang members in Glasgow were the “retailers” whereby the wholesale arm of the operation was in Liverpool.
DS Gunn s ai d: “The sentences send a clear message to anyone involved in the supply of drugs on to the streets of Scotland that you won’t get away with it.
“Let this also be a warning to those who involved in serious and organised crime in Scotland that this will not be tolerated. No-one is untouchable … being part of a gang offers no protection.”