VIDEO: Watch 'adrenaline junkie' escape avalanche with his young KIDS
AN ADRENALINE junkie has been blasted after he narrowly escaped death in an avalanche on a killer mountain - while accompanied by his young children.
Paul Sweeny went on an ABC talk show in the US to talk about his ordeal with sons Shannon, 11, and Paul Junior, nine on Western Europe's highest peak - Mont Blanc.
Mr Sweeny said he wanted to beat a world record by scaling the mountain with the boys.
But a terrifying video of their ordeal in the "Corridor of Death", which has been posted on YouTube, shows the horrifying scene they faced during an avalanche.
Jean-Marc Peillex, mayor of the Saint-Gervais municipality that includes Mont Blanc, was furious about the antics of the self-confessed "adrenaline junkie".
"It's a demonstration of vanity and conceit pushed absolutely to the limit," Mr Peillex said.
"Mont Blanc is for serious climbers. It isn't a trek or a playground for record-breakers.
Dad and two kids escape avalanche in 'Corridor of Death'
It's a demonstration of vanity and conceit pushed absolutely to the limit.
"Mr Sweeny deserves a severe dressing-down for irresponsibly putting the lives of his two children in danger, not publicity on a major news channel."
On July 8, Mr Peillex refused to allow a Polish climber to be airlifted by helicopter off the mountain, because he was at a refuge and perfectly safe.
"We are not a taxi service," Mr Peillex fumed.
Mr Peillex vented his spleen shortly before two Irish climbers died in a horror fall from Mont Blanc on Sunday.
The pair, who are yet to be named, fell hundreds of feet in the Dent du Geant area of the snow-capped peaks in eastern France.
Two Finnish climbers, aged 25 and 40 were killed in the same range last week, after falling into a crevasse on the approach to Aiguille de Blaitiere.
Numerous Britons are among the thousands who arrive in the French Alps during the summer to enjoy a range of mountain sports, including climbing and hiking.
Many are, however, unprepared for treacherous conditions which include snow and ice at high peaks, and hugely dangerous paths.
Around 20,000 people try to reach the summit of Mont Blanc every year. Many lack the most basic equipment, and are unprepared for sudden hazardous changes in the weather.
Many are, however, unprepared for treacherous conditions which include snow and ice at high peaks, and hugely dangerous paths.
Many lack the most basic equipment, and are unprepared for sudden hazardous changes in the weather.