Louis Lachenal

Louis Lachenal (17 July 1921 – 25 November 1955), a French climber born in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, was one of the first two mountaineers to climb a summit of more than 8,000 meters.

Annapurna

On 3 June 1950 on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition, along with Maurice Herzog, he reached the summit of Annapurna I in Nepal at a height of 8,091 m (26,545 ft).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They endured a protracted descent and both men suffered from frostbite, all of Lachenal's toes had to be amputated to prevent further damage being caused by the gangrene which developed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

Lachenal's diary from the Annapurna expedition was published in 1956 as the book Carnets du vertige.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Lachenal's son, Jean-Claude, inherited the diaries and in 1996 he approved the publication of an unexpurgated version<ref>Template:Cite book Unexpurgated version</ref> which led to questions about significant aspects of the "official" account which had been published by the expedition leader Maurice Herzog<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (who had also become a tuteur, a form of guardian, to Jean-Claude after his father's death).<ref name=Guard>Template:Cite news</ref>

Alpinist

Lionel Terray, one of the team who helped Lachenal descend after he summitted on Annapurna, had been Lachenal's regular climbing partner, from the time that they first climbed together in 1945.<ref name=Terray>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Refn

Lachenal and Terray made the fourth ascent of the north face of the Grandes Jorasses via the Walker Spur in August 1946; they bivouaced only once on the climb, none of the previous ascents had taken less than 3 days.<ref name=Terray/>Template:Rp In 1947 Lachenal and Terray made the second ascent of the North Face of the Eiger.<ref name=Terray/>Template:Rp Lachenal was described by Terray as "by far the fastest and most brilliant climber I have ever known on delicate or loose terrain".<ref name=Terray/>Template:Rp

Lachenal died falling into a snow-covered crevasse while skiing the Vallee Blanche in Chamonix.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The mountain Pointe Lachenal in the Mont Blanc massif was named after him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.