A British ex-soldier infuriated the mayor of a French Alps town when he attempted to scale Mont Blanc with a 700-pound rowing machine — and then left the bulky device behind when the weather worsened.
Matthew Disney, a former Royal Marine Commando who describes himself on his Facebook page as an “elite fitness enthusiast and global adventurer,” had announced that he would attempt to ascend Western Europe’s highest mountain with the machine, and then row its height — about 15,780 feet — on Aug. 30.
His goal in the risky feat was to raise money for two charities that support British marines, veterans and their families.
But as the weather conditions deteriorated, Disney was forced to dump the machine in a mountain shelter a few hundred yards below the summit — a decision that he made to prioritize his safety and that of his climbing partner, he told The Local.
But Jean Marc-Peillex, the local mayor of Saint-Gervais Les Bains, blasted Disney’s actions.
“Wackos continue to pollute access to Mont Blanc,” Peillex wrote in an open letter posted to Facebook in French and translated by The Local.
“With a name like [Disney], you’d think he thought he was at an amusement park,” wrote Peillex, in a letter that was widely published in the French media.
“Apparently [UK Prime Minister] Boris Johnson can’t keep control of his troops unless it was an idea by his friend Donald Trump,” the mayor joked under a photo of Disney ascending the mountain with the machine.
Disney insisted he plans to retrieve the machine from the mountain as soon as possible — and argued that the mayor misunderstood his purpose in attempting the endeavor.
“It was never my intention to make a mockery of the mountain,” he told The Local. “Something weighing over 700 pounds can’t be classed as litter. Anyone who knows me knows I have the utmost appreciation of nature.”
“I was doing it for a good cause,” he added.
In the same letter, the mayor also blasted a German tourist who climbed up the peak with his dog despite warnings from police brigades. He’d promised to leave the dog at a refuge before making his ascent, but instead sneaked out in the middle of the night with the pooch, Peillex said.
The dog survived, but not without bloodied paws.
And back in June, a pair of Swiss climbers landed a small plane just east of the mountain’s summit and then made their ascent, The Local reported. They were only fined about $42 and allowed to go on their way — but Peillex said it’s about time that the policies are changed.
“This situation has gone on long enough!” he charged in his letter, demanding that French President Emmanuel Macron “write and pass laws without delay that from 2020 would severely punish all these wackos who break the law, and restore peace to Mont Blanc.”
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