Here is a new and interesting from me, I chose ten new clichés which, by their context, their beauty or their singularity, make date in the history of mountaineering. Again, I tried the difficult exercise of finding the date, the author and the circumstances.
1. Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker on Kangchenjunga in 1979
If you remove the suits and the decor, you might think that they are two family fathers cutting out the fat on a bench, but it turns out that we are about 8,500 meters above sea level, just below the top of the Kangchenjunga. Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker pose for posterity under Doug Scott's lens. This first ascent by the west ridge of the Kangch 'on 16 May 1979 marked" the apotheosis of the light alpine style in the Himalayas"*. These two, inseparable, will die three years and a day later in Everest. Note that this expedition also included in its ranks the chamoniard Georges Bettembourg, grandson of Georges Charlet, brother of Armand, Legendary guide of Chamonix.
2. Pillar of the Freney 1961: the Nuba before the drama
We are on the 8th July 1961 in the shelter of The Fork on the slopes of Mont Blanc. Pierre Mazeaud, Robert Guillaume, Antoine Vieille, and Pierre Kolhmann had a good laugh before attacking the rise of the pillar of the Freney. For the last three mentioned, this session of laughter will be the last... they will not survive the storm that will force them to a terrible retreat and an agony of several days that will also carry the Italian Andrea Oggioni... we note the bandage around the right arm of Robert Guillaume perhaps victim of the most useless bloodshed in the history of mountaineering…
3. The frozen hands of Maurice Herzog
Official photographer and filmmaker of the French expedition to Annapurna in 1950, Marcel Ichac returned to France with a treasure: hundreds of photo Films! Among the most famous, this one, pathetic, shows Maurice Herzog who just arrived at camp II, on June 5, two days after having reached the summit in the company of Louis Lachenal. His hands are frozen, his eyes look haggard and his air is terribly tired but the picture is misleading... Herzog is in heaven: "the victory we bring back will remain in our hearts as a shining joy"*.
4. First winter at Everest, the team photo
Two mysteries for this photo: was it taken before or after ascension and who pressed the button? The Wikipedia entry is formal, the author of the cliché is Bogdan Jankowski. Problem, he's also in the picture... so what? A timer? Perhaps... one thing is certain: on February 17, 1980, Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy were at the top of Everest, thus making the first winter out of an 8,000. In this team photo that includes 26 climbers, I think Wielicki is in the second row, right in the middle with Cichy on his right. In the following years, the Poles became the Masters of the winter Himalayas.
5. The French on the roof of the world
On 15 October 1978, the French reached the summit of Everest for the first time. Jean Afanassieff, Nicolas Jaeger and Pierre Mazeaud are the lucky ones! They are accompanied by the Austrian Kurt Diemberger who, in his capacity as a photographer, is probably the author of this photograph on which one sees a Pierre Mazeaud with the colors of the Netherlands recent finalists of the 1978 football World Cup. After removing his oxygen mask, he tried to wave a French flag at the end of his ax. It's a bit of a failure ... " twenty-five years after Hillary, French flag on the roof of the world..."*.
6. Doug Scott crawling on the Ogre
It is 13 July 1977 on the Ogre, Pakistani summit of 7,285 meters. Question: on the picture, what is the peculiarity of the climber dressed in blue? He is the legendary British climber Doug Scott and is preceded by the no less prestigious Chris Bonington. Yeah, but what? Well, he doesn't look very comfortable because both of his ankles are broken... a few hours earlier, he did get a good bowl by dangling on a callback. After an abominable bivouac, they managed to reach a little lower Mo Anthoine and Clive Rowland – one of the two must be the author of the cliché – and started, in the storm, one of the worst retreats in the history of mountaineering. Doug Scott has no choice but to crawl, so it'll take them seven days to reach base camp.…
7. The Cesare Maestri compressor
In 1959, the Italian climber Cesare Maestri made everyone believe that he had achieved the feat of climbing the Cerro Torre, a summit of Patagonia that is reputed to be impregnable. In 1970, when the controversy never ceased to swell, Maestri went mad again and stormed the Cerro Torre to silence the critics. He brings with him a huge thermal compressor that will allow him to drill through the rock and plant more than 400 pistons. To top it all off, the compressor will be abandoned on the mountainside once the plan has been completed... this route, the ugliest in the world, will now be known as the " compressor route ". This photo was taken by photographer Lincoln Else, on the occasion of the ascension of David Lama, author, on January 21, 2012, of the first without using any of Maestri's pitons.
8. Christophe Profit's solo at the Drus
On June 30, 1982, in the American direct to the Drus, Christophe Profitoffered a solo that looked like a masterpiece. In 3h10, he swallowed the famous route opened 20 years earlier by the Americans Gary Hemming and Royal Robbins in the West face of this mythical Alpine wall. No rope, no equipment, just a small backpack with which to break the crust in case of cravings. The picture below illustrates perfectly the extent of the excess. Vertige ... it was taken by the photographer Vincent Mercié during reconstruction for the needs of a film – a little suspicious-made in 1985 by Nicolas Philibert: "Christophe". I found it in the July/August 2012 issue of " Vertical "magazine.
9. Junko Tabei, the first woman at the top of Everest
In 1975 Japanese media organized an expedition to Everest entirely made up of women. Junko Tabei is one of the 15 climbers selected and on May 16, 1975, she was the first woman to reach the roof of the world. At 35, she has just entered history and Sherpa Ang Tshering immortalizes this moment that will make her a star in her country. The picture's a little fuzzy, but it'll do.
Only 11 days after Junko Tabei, Tibetan Phantog will also stand on the top of Mount Everest, which she climbed on the North face. Not being aware of the Japanese expedition through the South pass, she was persuaded to be the first woman to achieve this feat... …
10. Edward Whymper and the fall to the Matterhorn in 1865
I admit I was a little cheated... this is not a photo but an engraving done by Gustave Doré. It represents the famous fall of the Cordee, led by Edward Whymper to the Matterhorn on July 14, 1865. It clearly shows Douglas Hadow slipping and bringing down Michel Croz, Charles Hudson and Lord Douglas. Whymper, saved by the broken rope, barely catches up to a piece of rock with his left hand. The Taugwalders father and son will also be spared. A few moments earlier, the seven men had reached the top of the Matterhorn, marking the end of the Golden Age of mountaineering.
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