Misplaced Pages

#909090

22-658: The mountain's highest summit is: Another, slightly lower sub-summit is: The two summits are on the west ridge of the Aiguille Verte (4,122 m) and are connected to each other by the Brèche du Dru (3,697 m). The north face of the Petit Dru is considered one of the six great north faces of the Alps . The southwest "Bonatti Pillar" and its eponymous climbing route were destroyed in a 2005 rock fall. The first ascent of

44-461: A base for many other alpine sports activities. Argentière is the starting point for the Téléphérique du Lognan cable car up to Les Grands Montets (3,295 m, 10,810 ft), a skiing area famous for its steep and demanding slopes, both on-piste as well as off-piste. In total, the skiing area is served by a cable car (in two sections), a gondola, five chairlifts and some skilifts. Along with

66-638: A little ridge of snow which descended in the direction of the Aiguille du Moine. At 10.15 we stood on the summit (13, 541 feet [sic]), and devoured our bread and cheese with a good appetite. The second ascent was by Charles Hudson , T. S. Kennedy and Michel Croz via the Moine ridge. The first woman to climb the Aiguille Verte was Lucy Walker in 1870. The first solo ascent of the Arête Sans Nom

88-423: A more direct route up the west face than that taken in 1952. On 10–13 August 1965, Royal Robbins, this time accompanied by John Harlin , climbed the 'American Direttissima'. This route was destroyed by the 2005 rockfall. In 1966 two German climbers became stuck on a climb of the west face. Attempts to rescue them were made by three teams, including climbers such as Gary Hemming who were in the area and had climbed

110-421: A rocky crevice at 3,000 m because of poor weather, and it was only on 18 September 1919 that the statue was finally hoisted to the summit by a party from Argentière : Alfred, Arthur, Camille, Joseph, and Jules-Félicien Ravanel together with the village priest, abbé Alexis Couttin. Aiguille Verte The Aiguille Verte ( French pronunciation: [eɡɥij vɛʁt] ; 4,122 m (13,524 ft)), which

132-692: Is French for "Green Needle", is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps . It was first climbed on 29 June 1865 by Edward Whymper , Christian Almer and Franz Biner, a fortnight before the fateful first ascent of the Matterhorn . Whymper was unable to climb with his usual guide, Michel Croz , who had to wait for a client in Chamonix . As a result, Whymper hired the services of Christian Almer, who had been with Alfred Wills on

154-400: Is no wearisome tramp over moraine, no great extent of snow fields to traverse. Sleeping out as we did, it would be possible to ascend and return to Chamonix in about 16 to 18 hrs. But the mountain is never safe when snow is on the rocks, and at such times stones fall freely down the couloir leading up from the head of the glacier. The best time for the expedition would be, in ordinary seasons, in

176-648: The France–Switzerland border at Le Châtelard, passing through Finhaut before reaching the end of the line in Martigny. The Argentière Glacier , which lies to the southeast of the village, is bound on its northeast side by the Aiguille du Chardonnet , the Aiguille d'Argentière and the Tour Noir, as well as on its southwest by the Aiguille Verte , Les Droites and Les Courtes. This area is generally known as

198-515: The Grand Dru was by British alpinists Clinton Thomas Dent and James Walker Hartley, with guides Alexander Burgener and K. Maurer, who climbed it via the south-east face on 12 September 1878. Dent, in his description of the climb, wrote: Those who follow us, and I think there will be many, will perhaps be glad of a few hints about this peak. Taken together, it affords the most continuously interesting rock climb with which I am acquainted. There

220-460: The Wetterhorn in 1854. Whymper describes the push for the summit: At the top of the small gully we crossed over the intervening rocks into the large one [the eponymous Whymper couloir]. At last ice replaced snow, and we turned over to the rocks upon its left. Charming rocks they were; granitic in texture, gritty, holding the nails well. At 9.45 we parted from them, and completed the ascent by

242-713: The commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc , at an altitude of 1,252 m (4,108 ft). Argentière is located near the head of the Valley of Chamonix approximately 7 km (4 mi) from Chamonix town. It is connected by road with Switzerland by the pass over the Col des Montets and the Col de la Forclaz to Martigny in the Rhône Valley. The village also lies on the route of the scenic Mont-Blanc Express railway which runs from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station through Chamonix, Argentière and Vallorcine before crossing

SECTION 10

#1732786658910

264-484: The Argentière basin. Argentiere is a popular destination for skiing , snowboarding and snowshoeing , attracting many skiers and snowboarders in the winter season – typically mid-December to early May – and is an ideal location for those who seek an exceptional alpine sports experience. The village is an equally popular location in summer season – June to September – for alpine walkers, rock and ice climbers, and as

286-584: The Italian climber Walter Bonatti climbed a difficult solo route on the south-west pillar of the Petit Dru (the Bonatti Pillar ); this route – like many on the west face – no longer exists in its original state owing to rockfall, the scars of which remain clearly visible from the Chamonix valley. Seven years later, from 24–26 July 1962, Gary Hemming and Royal Robbins climbed the 'American Direct',

308-485: The Mont Blanc massif range has estimated 60 deaths per year. As part of this range, there have been a number of incidents where climbers or skiers have been killed or gone missing on Aiguille Verte. 1964 - A freak summer avalanche resulted in the deaths of 14 climbers, who were roped together. 1990 - Snowboarding pioneer Bruno Gouvy died when he lost control after parachuting from a helicopter. 2014 - On July 9,

330-532: The Whymper Couloir. 2024 - In May, a skier fell 500 meters while descending the Whymper couloir. This Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Argenti%C3%A8re Argentière ( French pronunciation: [aʁʒɑ̃tjɛʁ] ) is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps , part of

352-543: The body of Patrice Hyvert, a French climber who went missing on 1 March 1982, was found. In October, a skier was killed while skiing the Whymper Couloir when he fell several hundred metres to his death. 2018 - In January, a skier was killed while skiing the Whymper Couloir. In August, three members of an Italian climbing exhibition were killed when slipping on rocks. 2023 - In June, four were killed on Aiguille Verte. Two skiers were killed in separate incidents on Couturier Couloir, and two climbers fell to their death while on

374-461: The face themselves. The rescue extended over seven days and received international press and TV coverage. The two climbers were rescued but a companion involved in the rescue died in the attempt. On 4 September 1913 a party of climbers led by Camille Simond and Roberts Charlet-Straton attempted to carry a hollow metal statue of Our Lady of Lourdes up the peak. The statue, almost a metre high, weighing 13 kilos and made of aluminium , had to be left in

396-520: The first time from the Petit Dru to the Grand Dru by two parties. One party contained Katharine Richardson and guides Emile Rey and Jean-Baptiste Bich, and the other Mr Nash and Mr Williams with guides François Simond, Frederic Payot and Edouard Cupelin. These 1000 m-high rock faces have seen serious rockfalls in 1950, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2011, which have considerably affected the structure of

418-469: The month of August. The rocks are sound and are peculiarly unlike those of other mountains. From the moment the glacier is left, hard climbing begins, and the hands as well as the feet are continuously employed. The difficulties are therefore enormously increased if the rocks be glazed or cold; and in bad weather the crags of the Dru would be as pretty a place for an accident as can well be imagined. The Petit Dru

440-425: The mountain and destroyed a number of routes. Although at the time of the first ascent of the north face ( Pierre Allain and R. Leininger on 1 August 1935), Pierre Allain considered the west face to be unclimbable, the team of A. Dagory, Guido Magnone, Lucien Bérardini and Marcel Lainé succeeded on the face in a series of attempts on 5 July and 17–19 July 1952 using considerable artificial aid. From 17–22 August 1955,

462-503: Was accomplished by Nicolas Jaeger in 1972. Aiguille Verte is nearly as famous for its descents as it is for its ascents. In 1989, Jean-Marc Boivin made the first descent of Aiguille Vert's Nant Blanc (North Face) on skis. Ten years later, Marco Siffredi made the second-ever descent of Nant Blanc, and the first descent on a snowboard. The North Face would not be descended via this route again until 2018 when Paul Bonhomme and Vivian Bruchez successfully descended on skis. At times

SECTION 20

#1732786658910

484-458: Was climbed in the following year, on 29 August 1879, by J. E. Charlet-Straton, P. Payot and F. Follignet via the south face and the south-west ridge. The first traverse of both summits of the Drus was by E. Fontaine and J. Ravanel on 23 August 1901. The first winter traverse of the Drus was by Armand Charlet and Camille Devouassoux on 25 February 1938. In 1889 both peaks of the Dru were climbed for

#909090