Top climber, 55, plunges 1,000ft to death in front of horrified friends after she slipped & fell on mountain in Italy

A MOUNTAINEER plunged 1,000ft to her death after slipping into a rocky ravine in front of her horrified friends.

Monica Reginato, 55, from Castelfranco, slipped and fell from the Cortina d’Ampezzo, a ski resort in northern Italy, on Saturday (April 20).

Newsflash

Photo shows Monica Reginato, undated. She died falling down a cliff at Sorapiss in Italy. (Newsflash)[/caption]

She had been hiking with three of her friends and had all of the safety equipment, including crampons, but it was not enough to avert disaster.

Reginato, along with her friends, had reportedly been carrying skis on her back when she fell to her death.

The emergency services were called to the scene at around 3:30pm.

A helicopter and medical personnel arrived but could only confirm that Reginato had died instantly.

She was reportedly an experienced mountaineer who had taught mountaineering school for more than 20 years.

She had reportedly fallen hundreds of metres into the gully, with rescuers having to use a 20-metre winch to retrieve her body.

Local media said that her friends were treated for shock.