[wbill]

5000 feet....that’s a long time to think things over.

[Sherman Logan]

Quite probably he bounced much of the way. Even on Mt. Blanc I suspect a 5000 foot freefall is unlikely.

[heartwood]

Earlier in the week, a British climber survived a 700-metre drop, escaping with bruises after being hit by an avalanche on the nearby Aiguille de Bionnassay, on the Italian side of the border.

He was said to have survived by "swimming" through snow and ice as it collapsed down the face of one of Mont Blanc's highest peaks.