Louis Lachenal (17 July 1921 – 25 November 1955), a French climber born in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

, was one of the first two

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 ...

s to climb a summit of more than 8,000 meters. On 3 June 1950 on the

1950 French Annapurna expedition The 1950 French Annapurna expedition, led by Maurice Herzog, reached the summit of Annapurna I at , the highest peak in the Annapurna Massif. The mountain is in Nepal and the government had given permission for the expedition, the first time it ...

, along with

Maurice Herzog Maurice André Raymond Herzog (15 January 191913 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and ...

, he reached the summit of

Annapurna I Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

at a height of 8,091 m (26,545 ft). Previously he had made the second ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1947, with

Lionel Terray Lionel Terray (25 July 1921 – 19 September 1965) was a French people, French climber who made many first ascents, including on the 1955 French Makalu expedition in the Himalaya (with Jean Couzy on 15 May 1955) and Fitz-Roy, Cerro Fitz Roy in t ...

. He died falling into a snow-covered crevasse while skiing the Vallee Blanche in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

. The mountain

Pointe Lachenal Pointe Lachenal is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is located above the Glacier du Géant, under the East face of Mont Blanc du Tacul and opposite the Aiguille du Midi.The mountain is a mix of snow and rock, and has ma ...

in the

Mont Blanc massif The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...

was named after him.

References

External links

"Tragic Study in French Movie Tells of Victory"
1953 Life Magazine account of their victorious climb.
"Louis Lachenal – The Star That Fell to Earth"
article about his death.
"Mountain Claims Famous Climber"
Life Magazine article about his death. 1921 births 1955 deaths Sportspeople from Annecy French mountain climbers Skiing deaths Sport deaths in France Accidental deaths from falls {{Climbing-bio-stub