3 dead after 7 climbers fall from mountain ridge in central Japan

^^^^ Ages?

Trapped

The climbers, ranging in age from 39 to 63, are believed to have fallen about 100 meters, according to the police.

Hope that helps.....

I have hiked and climbed in the Yatsugatake range a lot, summer as winter also not this particular peak.Those mountains at the far south side are very difficult, the wind is very strong up there. This season saw very little snow and my guess would be that last week's heavy snowfall created a thick but unstable top layer, rather disconnected from the ground...

Ok so after reading this I realized some people survived a 100m fall.

Since a floor is about 3m that’s a fall off at least 25 floors. It’s amazing they are ok and without bad injuries.

Experienced climbers.

The article says "A local alpine guide said the route they had taken was one used by experienced climbers."

Personally, I don't think it's a good time to climb. A lot of climbers head to Yatsugatake about now for the thrill of "Winter climbing", because there's still plenty of snow and it's not as cold as mid-Winter. Unfortunately the warm conditions increase the potential for avalanches etc. Not so bad on the Northern side, but the Southern peaks are a different story.

Ok so after reading this I realized some people survived a 100m fall.

Probably not a direct drop. Enough for serious injuries or death though.