Col de Peuterey. North face § as a new approach to the Peuterey Ridge with Gaston Rébuffat and the brothers Gerard and Maurice Herzog (15th Sept).
1945
Transferred by Captain Stéphane to Ecole Militaire de Haute Montagne, Chamonix.
Petits Dru. North face (via Allain Crack – HVS) with Jacques Oudot (15th Aug).
Aiguille Verte. Couturier Couloir with J.P.Payot, followed by Lachenal and Lenoir.
Aiguille du Moine. East face (Aureille/Feutren), second ascent with Louis Lachenal.
Qualifies as a guide and is accepted into Chamonix Guides Company.
Aiguille des Pèlerins. Grutter Ridge – difficult step direct § with Jo Marillac.
Aiguille Noire. South ridge with Jo Marillac.
1946
Les Droites. North spur with Louis Lachenal, Andre Contamine and Pierre Leroux in eight hours (one hour down to Couvercle) (4th Aug).
Grandes Jorasses. Early repeat of the Walker Spur with Louis Lachenal (10-11th Aug) with a variant trending into the Central Couloir § from above the Grey Tower.
Argentine. Second ascent of Grand Dièdre with Tomy Girard.
Bietschhorn. South-east ridge and down north ridge with Louis Lachenal.
Matterhorn. Furggen ridge with Lachenal, Tomy Girard and René Dittert.
1947
Aiguille Verte. Nant Blanc face (Chariet/Platenov) with Louis Lachenal (31st May).
Eiger. North Face (1938 Route). A publicised second ascent with Louis Lachenal – bivouacs in Swallow’s Nest and at the top of the Ramp (14-16th July).
Aiguille de Blaitière. West face (Allain/Fix). Second ascent with Louis Lachenal, Louis Pez and Joseph Simpson (20th Sept).
Becomes an Instructor at I’Ecole Nationale d’Alpinisme (Director: Jean Franco).
1948
Moves to Quebec to run a hotel ski school, teach instructors and coach the State team. – a comparatively lucrative posting lasting from Nov 1947 to Spring 1949.
1949
Mont Blanc. Brenva Face (Route Major) with Jean Gourdain (27th July).
Grand Capucin. (1924 Route) with Tom de Lepiney.
Grandes Jorasses. Tronchey Arête second ascent with Jean Gourdain (31st July-1st Aug).
Piz Badile north-east face with Louis Lachenal in seven and a half hours (9th Aug).
1950
Annapurna. § April-June via the north face – the first 8,000-metre peak to be climbed. Maurice Herzog (leader), Louis Lachenal, Lionel Terray, Gaston Rébuffat, Jean Couzy, Marcel Schatz, Jacques Oudot+, Francis de Noyelle, Marcel Ichac with Ang Tharkay (sirdar), Pansy, Sarki, Adjiba, Aila, Dawa Thondup, Phu Tharkay, Ang Dawa and others. After investigating several possibilities on Dhaulagiri during April, the party moved to Annapurna. After attempting the north-west spur they took the northern glacier route. Herzog and Lachenal reached the summit (3rd June, without oxygen) but mishaps turned the descent into a survival struggle involving Terray and Rébuffat (support team). Herzog and Lachenal were severely frostbitten. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog (Cape, London, 1952; Dutton, New York, 1953); Camets du Vertiges by Louis Lachenal (Guerin, Chamonix, 1994).
Aiguille Noire. September – a west face attempt was aborted after Terray’s companion, Francis Aubert, was killed whilst descending (unroped) below the Col de I’lnnominata.
1951
Aiguille Noire. West face early repeat with Raymond Emeric.
1952
FitzRoy (or Chalten).[1] § René Ferlet (leader), Marc Azéma, Guido Magnone, Lionel Terray, Louis Dépasse, Francisco Ibañez (liason officer), Louis Lliboutry, Georges Strouvé and Jacques Poincenot. There was an early tragedy when Poincenot, a talented rock climber, drowned during a hazardous river crossing (rumours that this might not have been the true cause of his death appear to be apocryphal). From Camp Three (an elaborate snow cave) Magnone and Terray tackled the south-east buttress utilizing several hundred feet of fixed rope and 118 pitons or wedges. There followed a final two-day summit push. Complex and difficult, the climb has proved less popular than the 1968 Californian route, or the 1965 Super-Couloir. The Conquest of FitzRoy by M.A. Azema (Deutsch, London, 1957).
Aconcagua. The FitzRoy party then tackled this peak but (as most were not acclimatised), only Terray and Ibañez reached the summit, in the process assessing the south-east ridge and south face (climbed in 1954 by another French expedition).
Note: Ibañez (presumably briefed by Terray) mounted and led the 1954 Argentinian Dhaulagiri expedition. He returned from his summit push frostbitten but failed to withdraw quickly for treatment. He died of gangrene after his feet were amputated in Kathmandu.
Nevado Hauntsan § and Nevado Pongos § (Cordillera Blanca) by Lionel Terray with his clients and friends Tom De Booy and Kees Egeler. The untrodden Andes by C.G.Egeler and T De Booy (Faber, London 1954).
Mont Blanc, R/H Freney Pillar. With Godfrey Francis and Geoffrey Sutton.
Film-making: Terray shot his first movie footage in the Andes and then made the film La Conquete du Hauntsán (with J.J.Languepin). He also made La Grande Descente du Mont Blanc (with Georges Strouvé and Pierre Tairraz). Both films won prizes at the Trento Festival.
1954
Makalu. August-October: a reconnaissance expedition (to identify the correct route and try out new equipment) with Jean Franco (leader), Lionel Terray, Jean Couzy, Jean Rivolier, Pierre Leroux and Jean Bouvier. Makalu La § was reached by Leroux and Bouvier (15th Oct) and probes made on the north face to c.7,800 metres.
Kangchungste § (Makalu 2) was climbed by Franco, Terray, Gyaltsen Norbu and Pa Norbu (22nd Oct) and Chomo Lonzo § by Terray and Couzy (c.30th Oct) – both ascents were made with their highly effective new oxygen equipment. Makalu by Jean Franco (Jonathan Cape, London, 1957).
1955
Mont Blanc Massif. Louis Lachenal dies in a ski accident – he fell into a crevasse whilst descending from the Vallée Blanche to the Mer de Glace.
Makalu. § April-May: first, second and third ascents by an expedition led by Jean Franco, with Lionel Terray, Jean Couzy, Guido Magnone, Pierre Leroux, Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, André Vialatte, André Lapras+, Michel Latreille, Pierre Bordet, Gyaltsen Norbu (sirdar), Aila, Panzy, Mingma Tenzing, Ang Bao, Ang Tsering and others. Ascents were made by Couzy and Terray (15th May), Magnone, Franco and Gyaltsen Norbu (16th May), and Bouvier, Coupé, Leroux and Vialette (17th May). Makalu by Jean Franco (Jonathan Cape, London, 1957)
1956
Pic Soray § (Cordillera Vilcabamba) – by the north face; Nevado Salcantay – second ascent and Nevado Veronica § (Cordillera Urubamba), by Lionel Terray, Kees Egeler, Tom De Booy, Hans Dijkhout and Raymond Jenny.
Chacraraju § (Cordillera Blanca) First ascent (by north face, with much fixed rope) by Lionel Terray (leader), Maurice Davaille, Claude Gaudin, Raymond Jenny, Robert Sennelier and Pierre Souriac (31st July). Also involved was Maurice Martin. The same six also climbed Taulliraju § (by the north-east ridge on 13 Aug). Both routes, with hard ice climbing and tough rock pitches, are amongst the most difficult in the Andes.
1957
Mont Blanc. January: rescue bid to save the students Francois Henry and Jean Vincendon (beleaguered during a traverse of Mont Blanc begun on 23rd Dec, 1956). They had been placed by rescuers in a crashed helicopter on the Grand Plateau. Terray and others – all unofficial rescuers (approaching from the Grands Mulets on foot) were forced to retreat (1st Jan). Further helicopter rescue bids failed and efforts were officially ended in good weather conditions on (3rd Jan) because of fear of further crashes. Terray and others were highly critical of the failure of the Chamonix Mountain Rescue to initiate an effort on foot when the alarm was first raised on 26th Dec. ‘The Tragedy on Mont Blanc’ by Rene Dittert (Mountain World 1958/59, pp.9-19).
Wetterhorn. North-west face with Kees Egeler and Tom De Booy.
Eiger. Rescue bid on t
he north face to reach the injured Claudio Corti and Stefano Longhi, marooned in different positions high on the face. Two other climbers who had disappeared were later found to have been avalanched whilst descending the west face. A multi-national team, directed by Robert Seiler, Eric Friedli and Ludwig Gramminger, set up a winch/cable system on the summit. Alfred Hellepart recovered Corti, but Terray’s attempt to reach Longhi was foiled when the cable jammed. Terray with Gramminger, Friedli, Mauri, Cassin, Schlunegger, De Booy and others then lowered Corti down the complex west ridge.
Grosshorn and Triolet climbed by their north faces with Tom de Booy (two of several classic Alpine ice faces which Terray did with his Dutch clients De Booy and Egeler).
1958
Pointe Adolphe Rey. East ridge direct § with Robert Guillaume.
Grand Capucin and other locations: filming Marcel Ichac’s Le Etoiles de Midi.
Jean Couzy killed in rock fall on Crete de Bergers, south-west face.
1959
Jannu (Kumbharkama). After reconnaissance in 1957 (by Magnone, Bouvier, Leroux and Gyaltsen Norbu) the southern glacier approach was tackled by Jean Franco (leader), Lionel Terray, Robert Paragot, Guido Magnone, Maurice Lenoir, René Desmaison, Jean Bouvier, Pierre Leroux, James Lartizien+, Jean-Michel Freulon, Philippe Dreux and Wangdi (sirdar) plus other sherpas. They climbed the complex south-west ridge to 310 metres below the summit. At Grips with Jannu by Jean Franco and Lionel Terray (Gollancz, London 1967)
Piz Badile. North-east face with Suzanne Valentini (9 Aug).
1960
Obergabelhorn. North-east face with Kees Egeler and Tom De Booy
1961
Terray fell when ledge collapsed on the cliffs of Le Saussois. Broke ribs. Les Conquerants de t’lnutile published (Librarie Gallimard, Paris).
1962
Jannu (Kumbhakarna). § South glacier south-west ridge. The summit was reached by René Desmaison, Paul Keller, Robert Paragot and Gyaltsen (27th April). The climb was repeated (28th April) by André Bertrand, Jean Bouvier, Paul Leroux, Yves Pollet-Villard, Jean Ravier, Lionel Terray (leader) and Wangdi (sirdar). Also involved were Maurice Lenoir, René Vernadet (cameraman), Guy de Haynin+, Philippe Dreux and Jean-Marcel Rémy. Bottled oxygen proved crucial to success on this difficult route. At Grips with Jannu by Jean Franco and Lionel Terray (Gollancz, London, 1967); Total Alpinism by René Desmaison (Granada, London, 1982). Note – Wangdi is incorrectly spelt Wongdi in official accounts.
Chacraraju Este. § July: first ascent by Lionel Terray (leader), Guido Magnone, René Dubost, Jacques Soubis, Paul Gendre. Also involved: Claude Maillard (organiser).
Nilgiri. § September/October – the first ascent of the 23,950-foot western satellite of Annapurna by a route up the north face by Peter, Paul and Holger Van Lookeren Campagne, Lionel Terray and Wangdi (19th Oct). Also involved: Tom De Booy and Kees Egeler.
1964
Mount Huntington § Lionel Terray (leader), Paul Gendre, Jacques Soubis, Jacques Batkin, Marc Martinetti, Maurice Gicquel, Sylvain Sarthou, Jean-Louis Bemezat tackled the sustained and stubborn south ridge, aided by an ice cave at its base and much fixed rope. Terray had a big fall high on the route (when unbelayed) and was only arrested on thin line he was trailing for fixed rope. On the 26th of May, after eighteen days of struggle in bitterly cold conditions, the summit (12,240 feet/3,731 metres) was reached by Batkin and Sarthou and, in more benign weather, by the six other members of the party (27th May).
1965
Gerbier: Arc de Cercle Crack. The roped bodies of Lionel Terray and Marc Martinetti were found below this difficult 400-metre rock climb in the Vercors, suggesting a fall while they were moving together (roped but unbelayed) on the easy upper section.
1. FitzRoy is the preferred form of the name (as opposed to Fitzroy, as used in this book, or Fitz-Roy and other hybrids). The mountain was named after Captain FitzRoy, the commander of Darwin’s Beagle. He was a member of the Duke of Grafton’s family, FitzRoy being the family name.[back]
Top: Terray (top left) as a teenage pupil in his first secondary school – a seminary near Grenoble.
Centre left: Baby Lionel in a romper suit with his father, c.1922 – ‘an exceptionally vigorous child.’
Centre: Terray as ‘a Little Lord Fauntleroy’, formally dressed for a mountain walk.
Centre right: At the age of fifteen on the Trois Pucelles, his favourite local crag.
Bottom: Terray participating in a regional ski championship during the early war years.
Top: On patrol near the Italian border in 1945 with the French mountain unit led by the inspiring Captain Stéphane (inset).
Centre left: Marianne Perrolaz, who Terray met during a ski event and soon married.
Centre right: Gaston Rébuffat, Terray’s early climbing partner – ‘tall, thin and stiff as an “I”, his somewhat formal manners and learned turn of phrase contrasted comically with a noticeable Marseilles accent. His whole conception of mountaineering, normal enough today, was far in advance of its time and entirely novel as far as I was concerned.’
Bottom: Terray with local children at his farm in Les Houches.
Top: The north faces of the Aiguille de Blatière (left) and Aiguille du Plan (right). Dent du Caïman is the most prominent of the rock peaks between them with Col du Caïman at the foot of its pronounced north-east ridge. Reaching this col was the objective of Lionel Terray and Gaston Rébuffat on 1942. They approached up the glacier-filled basin below and traversed the diagonal upper snow ramps to the foot of the slender ice runnel. Photo: André Contamine.
Bottom: Dent du Caïman seen from the Fontaine ledges on Aiguille de Blatière. The slender ice runnel leading to the col is directly below the north-east ridge with the prominent Lagarde/Segogne couloir to its right. Photo: Pierre Chevalier.
Fissure Allain (grade 6), the crux pitch of the north face of the Petit Dru. While Terray and Oudot struggled with this the following party (Félix Martinetti and Gilbert Ravenal) moved right and found the easier Martinetti Crack – now the normal route of ascent.
The Walker Spur of the Grandes Jorasses. ‘I was climbing as never before … our progress was more like a well-drilled ballet than a difficult piece of mountaineering.’ Photo: Alex MacIntyre (Inset) Terray and Lachenal’s finish up the central couloir (right).
The North Face of the Eiger showing the 1938 route and that of the 1957 rescue efforts. (C = Corti, L = Longhi.) Terray and Lachenal (Inset) made their ascent over three days in 1947.
Top left: The Hinterstoisser Traverse. Photo: Tony Hiebeler.
Top right: The traverse of the Third Icefield to the Ramp. Photo: Harrer Archive.
Bottom: The Traverse of the Gods. Photo: Terray Archive.
The 1957 Eiger rescue effort. Top left: Alfred Hellepart rescues Claudio Corti from the face.
Top right: Ludwig Gramminger, Lionel Terray and Ricardo Cassin.
Centre: Erich Friedli guides the specially-designed stretcher down the west ridge.
Bottom: Chamonix guides assemble in the main square below Balmat and de Saussure. Terray is on the left (light breeches) and the famous guide Armand Charlet stands in a dark tie (left) behind the central squatting group.
Annapurna 1950. The lack of pre-war French activity in high-altitude mountaineering led to a resolve to play a more active role in the post-war years. With Nepal newly accessible, permission was gained in 1949 to attempt either Dhaulagiri or Annapurna. An expedition was rapidly organised and financed, an effort in which the veteran mountaineer Lucien Devies (left) played a key role. The party, led by Maurice Herzog (right) set out for Nepal in early April.
Bottom: The Annapurna expedition members at a press conference and reception at the French Embassy in New Delhi with (left to right) Jean Couzy, Louis Lachenal, Jacques Odot, Marcel Schatz, Mau
rice Herzog, Lionel Terray, Francis de Noyelle, Gaston Rébuffat and Madame Levi, the ambassador’s wife.
Top: The northern glacial slopes of Annapurna (foreshortened) with the 1950 route and camps marked. Camp 4 was initially sited in the basin before the Sickle.
Bottom: Negotiating the avalanche- and sérac-menaced slopes between camps 2 and 3.
Top left: Steep climbing around the base of the Sickle (the curving rock and ice cliff) to reach the repositioned Camp 4.
Top right: On the summit of Annapurna.
Bottom left: Terray, snowblind, returns to Camp 2.
Bottom right: The frostbitten Herzog is carried down the rocks below Camp 1.
Top: Makalu 1954-44 Lucien Devies was again to the fore in organising the French attempt on the world’s fifth-highest peak. Annapurna veterans Terray and Couzy were joined by Jean Franco (leader), Guido Magnone and others. A reconnaissance trip (with the Kangchungste and Chomo Lönzo) prepared the way for success in 1955 with nine climbers reaching the summit.
Bottom: Chomo Lönzo (25,640 feet) seen from Kangchungste (25,120 feet). Terray and Couzy (inset) made the first ascent by the obvious curving ridge.
Kangchungste also gave a view of the northern slopes of Makalu. The route taken in 1955 is marked on a photo taken from Chomo Lönzo (inset left). Gyaltsen Norbu (inset right) who in 1956 added Mansalu to his Makalu ascent, becoming the first person to climb two 8,000-metre peaks.
Top: Jean Couzy on the final climb to gain the summit of Makalu (27,790 feet).
Bottom: The view from the summit down to the south-east ridge (climbed by a Japanese expedition in 1970) and eastern cwm of Makalu with the Chamlang massif in the background.
Conquistadors of the Useless Page 47
