After 48 hours in the shelter, the Pole eventually threw in the towel, paying for a guide to help him retrace his steps down to the valley below. Just a few days ago, another two Poles, also living in Britain, ignored warnings of bad weather to attempt an ascent, only to call mountain rescue for help after losing their way between the Goûter and Vallot refuges. Again, the PGHM refused to fly up a helicopter because of the conditions, telling them to make their way to one of the huts without waiting for rescuers to arrive. "These people just didn't understand why we couldn't come and get them in heavy snow," said Mr Ribes, whose group rescues around 1,000 climbers from the Mont Blanc massif each year.