Lionel Terray (25 July 1921 – 19 September 1965) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

climber who made many

first ascents 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 ent ...

, including on the

1955 French Makalu expedition The 1955 French Makalu expedition was the first to successfully climb Makalu, the Himalayan mountain to the southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. At Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and an eight-t ...

in the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

(with

Jean Couzy Jean Couzy (9 July 1923 – 2 November 1958) was a French mountaineer. He studied aeronautical engineering at the École Polytechnique. At age 27, he was a member of Maurice Herzog's 1950 expedition to Annapurna. Prior to this, his usual climbing ...

on 15 May 1955) and

Cerro Fitz Roy Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.Patagonian Andes (with Guido Magnone in 1952). A climbing guide and ski instructor, Terray was active in mountain combat against Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, he became well known as one of the best

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 ...

climbers and guides, noted for his speedy ascents of some of the most notorious climbs in the French, Italian, and

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swis ...

: the Walker Spur of the

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by ...

, the south face of the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey, the north-east face of

Piz Badile Piz Badile (3,308 m) is a mountain of the Bregaglia range in the Swiss canton of Graubünden and the Italian region of Lombardy. The border between the two countries runs along the summit ridge. Its north-east face, overlooking the Swiss Val Bre ...

, and the north face of the Eiger. Terray, frequently with climbing partner Louis Lachenal, broke previous climbing speed records. Terray was a member of Maurice Herzog's 1950 French Annapurna expedition, 1950 expedition to the Nepalese Himalayan peak, Annapurna, the highest peak climbed at the time, and the first 8000-meter peak climbed (although British climbers George Mallory, Andrew Irvine (mountaineer), Andrew Irvine, George Finch (chemist), George Finch, Geoffrey Bruce (mountaineer), Geoffrey Bruce, Henry Morshead, Edward Felix Norton, Teddy Norton and Howard Somervell had reached higher altitudes on Mount Everest during the 1920s). Terray did not reach the summit of Annapurna, but together with the Sherpa people, Sherpa Adjiba he aided summiteers Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal down from the mountain. Both Herzog and Lachenal experienced extreme frostbite and subsequently underwent amputations. Despite these events, the French team returned to Paris to huge public acclaim, and Herzog's expedition book ''Annapurna'' became an international bestseller. Terray made the second ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1947, with Louis Lachenal. He was also one of the main participants in the great attempt to rescue four climbers trapped on the north face of the Eiger in 1957. This mission forms the subject of Jack Olsen's 1962 book, ''The Climb Up To Hell'', in which Terray's skill and bravery receive special mention. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Terray made a number of first ascents in Peru, including the highest unclimbed peak in the central Andes at the time, Huantsan. He also made first ascents of lower but more difficult peaks, including Willka Wiqi, Soray, Tawllirahu, and Chacraraju, Chakrarahu/Chacraraju, possibly the hardest peak in the Andes, Peruvian Andes and considered unclimbable at the time. One of Terray's finest achievements was the first ascent of Jannu in Nepal in 1962. He also climbed the Nilgiris near Annapurna, and led the successful 1964 first ascent of Mount Huntington (Alaska), Mount Huntington, in the Alaska Range, by the northwest ridge. Terray organised a rescue attempt of two climbers stranded on Mont Blanc in December 1956. For this he was expelled from the Chamonix Guide's Association, which had refused to participate in the rescue from the start on the grounds that the risk to the rescuers would be too great. Due to the fact that no other guides would accompany him, Terray set out a small team of amateurs. They were turned back on 1 January 1957 either by poor weather or on the understanding that a helicopter would attempt a rescue the following day. Terray was highly critical of the Chamonix Guide Association's inaction when the alarm had first been raised. Terray died on a rock climb in the Vercors Plateau, Vercors, south of Grenoble, on 19 September 1965, several years after the publication of his climbing memoir, ''Conquistadors of the Useless''. There were rumors that Terray was functionally illiterate and the book was ghost-written; however in a Foreword written by author and climber David Roberts (climber), David Roberts to an English edition, he confirms he found the original manuscript written in Terray's hand which is word for word what was published, dispelling any notion that Terray did not write the book entirely himself. His grave is situated in

, France. A traffic circle is named for him in Chamonix, WSW of town.

Principal expeditions

Principal expeditions: *1942 - First ascent of the west side of Aiguille Purtcheller. *1944 - First to the east-northeast spur of the Pan de Sucre. The first on the north face of the Aiguille des Pèlerins and the north of the Peuterey lap with Maurice Herzog. *1946 - Spur north of the Droites, with Louis Lachenal, in eight hours. And the north face of

. *1947 - Third ascent of the north face of Aiguille Verte. The second to climb the northern face of the Eiger with Lachenal. *1950 - Lionel Terray on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition, expedition to Annapurna, the first 8000+m mountain successfully climbed. Terray did not summit but played a rescue role. *1952 - First ascent of Fitz Roy (3,405m) in Patagonia. Climb to Aconcagua (6,960m). *1954 - Reconnoiter of Makalu in Tibet. First ascents of subsidiary summits Kangchungtse and Chomo Lonzo (7,804m). *1955 - 1955 French Makalu expedition, Expedition to Makalu, first summit (8,845m), with

. *1956 - In Peru, Nevado Chacraraju (6,110m); and Taulliraju (5,830m). *1959 - Expedition to Jannu, 7,710 m, stopping at 7,400 m. In 1962, under Terray's direction, success. *1962 - First ascent of Jannu in Nepal. *1964 - In the Alaskan range, first ascent of Mount Huntington (Alaska), Mount Huntington (3,731m).

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terray, Lionel 1921 births 1965 deaths Sportspeople from Grenoble French mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths Sport deaths in France