Tragedy on France’s Mont Blanc: Mendoza winemaker dies, Argentine climber injured

Gabriel Ansiaume, a 39-year-old winemaker from Mendoza, died after falling while climbing in France’s Mont Blanc massif. His companion, also Argentine, survived and remains hospitalized.

The accident occurred around midday at the Aiguille du Peigne, one of Chamonix’s well-known peaks, whose summit reaches 3,192 meters. The High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon in Chamonix said the two men were climbing a route when they slipped and fell toward the Papillons couloir. The circumstances remain under investigation.

According to reports cited in the article, the accident happened after they reached the summit, while they were rappelling during the descent. Initial information indicated that weather conditions did not cause the fall. Ansiaume had traveled to Europe for work and decided to climb with his cousin, an Argentine who lives in France. The cousin suffered a spinal injury and was evacuated by air to a hospital in Sallanches, in Haute-Savoie.

“

My brother of the soul, forever and always, light of eternal life, the embrace we will share when we meet again.

Known to friends as “Rata,” Ansiaume had built a respected career in the wine industry. He worked on several projects, including the Contrabando line at Bodegas Tierras Altas, with his friend and colleague Federico Vargas Arizu. Vargas Arizu wrote, “My brother of the soul, forever and always, light of eternal life, the embrace we will share when we meet again.”

The winery remembered Ansiaume as someone who lived wine “with passion, curiosity and that unique energy that always kept you thinking, doing and creating.” He had trained as a winemaker at Universidad Maza and later earned a degree in oenology. Colleagues and his university highlighted his technical career and human qualities after his death.

“

You lived wine in your own way: with passion, curiosity and that unique energy that always kept you thinking, doing and creating.