Henry or Henri Duhamel (born 9 December 1853 in Paris, died 7 February 1917 in

Gières Gières () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). The archaeologist Joseph Chamonard (1866–1936) died in Gières. Grenoble-Universités-Gières station has rail c ...

( Isère)) was a French

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

, author and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

pioneer. He introduced the practice of skiing to his circle of friends at

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, leading to the creation of the first ski club in France.

Bourgeois athlete

Henry Duhamel was born in Paris in 1853 and moved in 1873 to Gières, near

, due to health problems. There, the young Parisian bourgeois developed a taste for the mountains, the practice of hiking, climbing, running and

combined driving Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

and strove to become an accomplished athlete. In 1874, Duhamel founded the Isère or Grenoble section of the

Club alpin français Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

(French Alpine Club) and began to explore the peaks of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

. In 1875, in the company of Baron Emmanuel Boileau de Castelnau and the guide Alexandre Tournier, Duhamel tried to climb the western peak of the

Meije La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère ''départements''. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well known for its off-piste ...

without reaching the summit. A second attempt the following year by the south side led to the foot of a wall deemed impassable. Finally in 1877 Boileau de Castelnau and his guide

Pierre Gaspard Pierre Gaspard (born 6 December 1959) is a Belgian physicist and professor at the ''Interdisciplinary Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems'' and the ''Service de Physique Non-Linéaire and Mécanique Statistique'' of the Universit ...

reached the top, taking the first path traced by Henry Duhamel. Henry Duhamel turned to other peaks, both in France and

Kabylie Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

, and established twenty-three new routes, including

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

s of eight virgin peaks. He climbed the Pic Gaspard (3883 m) in 1878 and the south face of the

Barre des Écrins The Barre des Écrins () is a mountain in the French Alps with a peak elevation of . It is the highest peak of the Massif des Écrins and the Dauphiné Alps and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres. It is the ...

(the south

arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

of the Pic Lory, 4088 m) in 1880 with Pierre Gaspard and his son. When French mountain climber

Henri Cordier Henri Cordier (8 August 184916 March 1925) was a French linguist, historian, ethnographer, author, editor and Orientalist. He was President of the Société de Géographie (French, "Geographical Society") in Paris.Le Plaret in June 1877, Duhamel took charge of returning Cordier's body to La Bérarde, where he photographed it.

Ski pioneer

Henry Duhamel moved in all seasons in the mountains of Dauphiné, but the winter remained a problematic season. Horses and sleighs pulled by use of a coupling were limited when the snow reached dizzying heights. The athlete could not find a way to stay in shape with outdoor exercises. He considered

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

s, but they were not suitable for hiking and he failed to find shoes manufactured with satisfactorily wide flanges. In 1878, looking for Canadian snowshoes, he visited the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where a Swedish representative showed him the long, narrow boards that his fellow Scandinavians used in winter. He bought the stand display of the unified kingdom of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and Sweden. They were snow skis, traditional wooden planks for sliding on snow. Duhamel purchased the skis without instructions on how to use them. Back in Gières, he researched skis in his extensive library, finding a reference to their use by Arctic explorers in a 1539 Swedish encyclopedia. Duhamel realized that the simple lace binding was complex. Due to his lack of mastery of the link with an adapted shoe, he was awkward and took several years to master skiing technique. In 1889, with the best bindings cobbled together by a craftsman, he managed one successful trial to

Chamrousse Chamrousse () is a ski resort in southeastern France, in the Belledonne mountain range near Grenoble in the Isère department. It is located in a commune of the same name and is situated on the Recoin at and the Roche Béranger at . The ski- ...

, which ended with a final somersault. He then undertook a trip to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in 1890 and met members of the

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

(or "Lapps") already familiar with the terrain and the use of skis. The tests were successful; skiing became an enjoyable exercise and a tourist pleasure in the fresh air. Duhamel imported fourteen pairs of skis, equipped with good bindings produced in Norway, and proceeded to distribute them to his friends over the years. In November 1895, some of his athlete friends, skiers sufficiently distinguished, decided to gather in a ski club in imitation of the British. The association saw its constitution officially recognized on 1 February 1896. Recreational skiing for the urban bourgeois was born in France. The first president of the Alpine Ski Club was the founder of the Rock Club, Ernest Thorant. Henry Duhamel declined the presidency because he did not reside in Grenoble. On 1 March 1896 the first joint meeting and celebration under the eye of Alpine journalists was held in the presence of a monitor officer of the Swedish army from

Lans-en-Vercors Lans-en-Vercors is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Twin towns Lans-en-Vercors is twinned with: * Saint-Donat, Lanaudière, Quebec, Canada, since 1990 See also *Communes of the Isère department *Parc ...

Autrans Autrans () is a former commune in the Isère department in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Autrans-Méaudre-en-Vercors. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, it hosted ...

, with return by Croix-Perrin. The ''Moniteur Dauphinois'' published an extensive account on 7 March 1896. The Alpine press described the technique and the equipment at length. Historians have questioned Duhamel's remarks about his ski trials in 1878 because he only claimed to have conducted them in late 1908, when skiing reached its first peak of popularity. The first winter ascent of the

Croix de Belledonne Croix de Belledonne, at , is one of the highest points in the Belledonne range in the French Alps, close to the highest summit in the range, Grand Pic de Belledonne The Grand Pic de Belledonne is the highest mountain in the Belledonne massif i ...

in snowshoes cannot be attributed to Henry Duhamel. Photographic evidence exists that the first such ascent was conducted by Maurice Allotte of la Fuye on 23 February 1890. As a supporter of the mountain sports world, Duhamel sought to share his passion with others by publishing numerous articles for the CAF, a ''Guide du Haut-Dauphiné'' in 1887 (in collaboration with W. A. B. Coolidge and Félix Perrin) which included a

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

in color of the

Mont Pelvoux Mont Pelvoux () is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins in the French Alps. It stands in elevation. For many years, Mont Pelvoux was believed to be the tallest mountain in the region, since the taller Barre des Écrins The Barre des Écrins ...

massif, and a tribute to the

Alpine troops Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, t ...

, ''Au Pays des Alpins'', in 1899.

Death

In 1914, Henry Duhamel was assigned to the 28th Bataillon Alpin de Chasseurs à Pieds as a territorial captain. He was responsible for organizing the training of ski companies going to the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

front. As a volunteer instructor officer, he performed his last military mission at the age of sixty-three. Duhamel died on 7 February 1917 as the result of a fall on a patch of ice two months earlier in the courtyard of the barracks of

Bonne, Haute-Savoie Bonne () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Savoie department The following is a list of the 279 Communes of France, communes of the French Departmen ...

Legacy

Duhamel's library was dispersed at two sales in Lyon in 1921 and 1922. In honor of Duhamel, a street in Grenoble bears his name, as does the gap separating the Croix de Belledonne from the central peak of the Belledonne range, and one of the side peaks in the

Massif des Écrins The mountains of the Massif des Écrins (; Écrins Massif) form the core of Écrins National Park in Hautes-Alpes and Isère in the French Alps.Pyramide Duhamel). Duhamel appears as a character in the novel ''Le roman de Gaspard de la Meije'' by Isabelle Scheibli.

Books

*
Tentatives d'Ascension au Pic Occidental de la Meije ou Aiguille du Midi de la Grave (Hautes-Alps)
' (1876). Extract from the ''Annuaire du Club Alpin Français'' (1875).

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

: Typographie Georges Chamerot. *
Guide du Haut-Dauphiné
' (1887). With W. A. B. Coolidge and Félix Perrin.

: Alexandre Gratier. *
Supplément au Guide du Haut-Dauphiné
' (1890). With W. A. B. Coolidge and Félix Perrin. Grenoble: Imprimerie Breynat et Cie. * ''Alpes Dauphinoises'' (1890). Guides-Joanne. Paris:

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

. * ''The Central Alps of the Dauphiny'' (1892). With W. A. B. Coolidge and Félix Perrin.

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

: Fisher Unwin. * ''Carte du Haut-Dauphiné'' (1892).

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

: Würster et Randegger. * ''Mémoire de la Blottière'' (1892). Grenoble: Librairie X. Drevet. *
Grenoble considéré comme centre d'excursions alpestres
' (1893). Grenoble: F. Allier père et fils. * ''Description des vallées des grandes Alpes'' (1894). Grenoble: X. Drevet. * ''La topographie du Haut-Dauphiné'' (1896). Grenoble: X. Drevet. *

' (1899). Grenoble: Falque et Perrin. *

' (1902). Grenoble: Falque et Perrin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duhamel, Henry 1853 births 1917 deaths French military personnel of World War I French mountain climbers French non-fiction writers French male skiers Sportspeople from Isère Sportspeople from Paris French male non-fiction writers Accidental deaths from falls