François Devouassoud (September 1831 – 1905) was a French

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

who made many first ascents in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, notably as guide to Douglas William Freshfield, who claimed that Devouassoud "was the first Alpine guide to carry his ice-axe to the snows of a distant range".Freshfield, 1902, p. 18.

Life

Devouassoud was born in 1831 in the hamlet of Les BaratsCunningham and Abney, 1888, p. 105 in the

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 ...

valley. The eldest of three brothers, both of whom were also guides, Devouassoud was educated at

Sallanches Sallanches (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Located close to the Mont Blanc massif, many visitors pass through the town en route to well-known alpine resorts such as Chamonix, M ...

, and subsequently at Bonneville. He passed some time in a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

seminary in his youth and he contemplated becoming a priestCunningham and Abney, 1888, p. 28 but returned to Chamonix.

Mountaineering

Alps

He was admitted to the Compagnie des guides de Chamonix in 1849.Cunningham and Abney, 1888, p. 107 Amongst those who sought his services in the Alps were Freshfield, W. A. B. Coolidge, Francis Fox Tuckett, Horace Walker, Adolphus Warburton Moore and Charles Comyns Tucker. Devouassoud was treasurer of the Compagnie des guides de Chamonix for ten years, but refused the post of president. Claire Engel offers the following portrait of Devouassoud, based on the account of Freshfield:

Greater Ranges

As Freshfield stated, Devouassoud was the first alpine guide to work in the greater ranges. Cunningham and Abney write that he was "the doyen of the pioneers who have set out at different times for the Caucasus, the Himalayas, New Zealand, or the Andes". In 1868 he made the first ascents of Kazbek and the east summit of Elbrus in the Caucasus. In 1887 he was the subject of a photograph by Abney, possibly the one illustrating this article, entitled "A Chamounix Guide, Francois Devouassoud" at the 32nd Exhibition of Photographic Society of Great Britain.

First ascents

* 25 August 1864 - Presanella with M. Beachcroft, Douglas William Freshfield and Horace Walker * 16 June 1865 - Grande Mèsule with G. H. Fox, Douglas William Freshfield, Francis Fox Tuckett and Peter Michel * 28 June 1865 - Pizzo Tresero (Ortles massif) with Francis Fox Tuckett, J.H. Backhouse, G.H. Fox and Peter Michel * 10 July 1866 - North-west ridge of the Bietschhorn with Charles Comyns Tucker and F. von Allmen * 27 July 1867 - Piz Badile with William Auguste Coolidge and Henri DevouassoudRobin Collomb, ''Bregaglia West'', Goring: West Col Productions, 1988 * 1 July 1868 - Kazbek with Douglas William Freshfield, Adolphus Warburton Moore and Charles Comyns Tucker * 31 July 1868 - North-west summit of Mount Elbrus, Elbruz with Douglas William Freshfield, Adolphus Warburton Moore and Charles Comyns Tucker * 1875 - Sass Maor (Dolomites) with H. A. Beachcroft and Charles Comyns TuckerCunningham and Abney, 1888, p. 109

Bibliography

*C. D. Cunningham and W. de W. Abney, ''The Pioneers of the Alps'', Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1888. *Douglas William Freshfield, ''The Exploration of the Caucasus'', volume 1, London: Edward Arnold, 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devouassoud, Francois 1831 births 1905 deaths Alpine guides French mountain climbers