Claude Kogan (1919–1959) (née Trouillet) was a French mountaineer who, after climbing a number of peaks in South America, turned to the Himalayas. After notable feats such as the first ascent of

Nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

(7,135 m (23,409 ft)), she died in October 1959 while leading a women-only expedition to climb

Cho Oyu Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...

, the sixth-highest mountain in the world, on the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

–

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Province No. 1 Koshi Province () is an autonomous province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its capital, the province i ...

border.

Biography

Kogan was born in Paris in 1919. Born to a poor mother, she quit school at 15 and got a job as a seamstress. Her first climbing experience was in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

of Belgium. She moved to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

where she had a business designing women's

swimwear A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types and styles may be worn ...

, with

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

as one of her clients. There she met and married mountaineer George Kogan, who was the first to introduce her to climbing. Following the war, the couple became members of the Groupe de Haute Montagne and climbed

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, 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 ...

, the north face of the Dru, and the south ridge of the

Aiguille Noire de Peuterey The Aiguille Noire de Peuterey (3,773 m) is a mountain of the Mont Blanc massif in Italy, forming part of the Peuterey ridge to the summit of Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at th ...

. In the early 1950s she and her husband climbed in South America and claimed the first ascent of

Alpamayo Alpamayo (possibly from Quechua ''allpa'' earth, ''mayu'' river, "earth river") or Shuyturaju (possibly from Ancash Quechua ''huytu, shuytu'' oblong, slim and long, Quechua ''rahu'' snow, ice, mountain covered in snow) is one of the most conspicuo ...

, and also reached the summit of

Kitarahu Quitaraju or Kitaraju (possibly from Ancash Quechua ''kita'' dam, Quechua ''rahu'' snow, ice) is a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes of Peru, about high. It is situated in the Ancash Region, Huaylas Province, Santa Cruz District. ...

(both with Nicole Leiniger). Her husband died in 1951, but Kogan returned to South America in 1952 and climbed

Salcantay Salcantay, Salkantay or Sallqantay (in Quechua languages, Quechua) is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco Region, about west-northwest of the city of Cusco. It is the 38th-hi ...

with the expedition led by Bernard Pierre. In 1953, she climbed

, , in India in a Pierre-led expedition, summitting with Pierre Vittoz after the other climbers had been caught by avalanches. In the American press, the newspapers reported on her as a "Paris dress designer" who realized the "dream of every mountaineer". Reaching the top of Nun gave Kogan the record for the highest summit attained by a female mountaineer to date.

Cho Oyu expedition and death

The expedition to

in 1959 was noteworthy not just because it consisted of female climbers but also because it was international: besides the French Kogan the team also included Loulou Boulaz from Switzerland, Dorothea Gravina, Margaret Darvall and Eileen Healey from the UK, the Belgian Claudine van der Straten-Ponthoz, and the French mountaineers Jeanne Franco, Colette LeBret and Micheline Rambaud. Amongst the Nepali members were Tenzing's daughters Nima and Pem-Pem and his niece Dhoma. In 1954, Kogan, with

Raymond Lambert Raymond Lambert (18 October 1914 – 24 February 1997) was a Swiss mountaineer who together with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres (just 237 metres from the summit) of Mount Everest, as part of a Swiss Expedition in May ...

, had been forced to turn back 500 meters from the summit, and she was eager to prove herself. Kogan and van der Straten-Ponthoz and two Sherpa porters perished in an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

. Dorothea Gravina then took charge of the expedition.

Ascents and attempts

Aiguille du Dru The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French. The ...

, north face, 1946 *

, claimed first ascent, 1951 *

, second ascent, 1951 *

, first ascent, 1952 *

, first ascent, 1953 *

Yangra Yangra (Ganesh I) is the highest peak of the Ganesh Himal, which is a subrange of the Himalayas. Although not an eight-thousander, 8,000 metre peak, and little visited, it enjoys great vertical relief over the nearby valleys. __NOTOC__ Location ...

Ganesh Himal Ganesh Himāl is a sub-range of the Himalayas located mostly in north-central Nepal, but some peaks lie on the border with Tibet. The Trisuli Gandaki valley on the east separates it from the Langtang Himal; the Budhi (Buri) Gandaki valley and the ...

, first ascent, 1955

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kogan, Claude 1919 births 1959 deaths French mountain climbers French female climbers French female mountain climbers Deaths in avalanches Deaths on Cho Oyu Mountaineering deaths People from Paris 20th-century French women

Biography

Cho Oyu expedition and death

Ascents and attempts

See also

References