Benoît Chamoux (19 February 1961 – 6 October 1995) was a French Alpinist, who claimed to have summited 13 of the Eight-thousanders in the Himalayas.
Benoît Chamoux | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 February 1961 |
| Disappeared | 6 October 1995 (aged 34) Himalaya |
| Status | Missing for 29 years, 1 month and 17 days |
| Nationality | French |
Three of these climbs are disputed and are not formally recorded (Makalu in 1995, Cho Oyu in 1990 and Shishapangma in 1990). His official recorded number of ascents is 10.[1][2]
Biography
editChamoux was born in La Roche-sur-Foron near Mont Blanc in the department of Haute-Savoie, France. He disappeared near the summit of his 14th Himalayan peak, Kangchenjunga (8586m) on 5 October 1995 with photographer Pierre Royer and their Sherpa Riku.[3] Three of his eight-thousander ascents were to either their fore-summits or the plateau, and are disputed.
The non-profit "Foundation Benoît Chamoux" was created under the auspices of the Foundation of France with the mission to educate Sherpa children who have lost their fathers in mountain expeditions.[4]
Principal achievements
edit- 1982: Diamond couloir on Mount Kenya
- 1983: Huascaran South in Peru
Solo ascents
edit- 1985: Gasherbrum II (8036m) on 15 June and Gasherbrum I (8068m) on 22 June.
- 1986: Broad Peak (8051m) at 16:00 on 20 June and K2 (8611m) arête des Abruzzes at 23:00 on 7 July in just 23 hours of climbing.[5]
- 1987: Nanga Parbat (8126m) via Diamir at 23:00 on 7 July.
Expeditions leading the team l’Esprit d’Équipe
edit- 1988: Annapurna (8091m) via the South Face on 10 May. Five men of the six-man team reached the summit.
- 1989: Manaslu (8156m) via the South Face on 12 and 15 May. Everyone in the eight-man team reached the summit in four teams of two.
- 1990: Cho Oyu (8201m) on 30 April. Everyone in the seven-man team reached the summit (this ascent has been disputed by Elizabeth Hawley).
- 1990: Shishapangma (8013m) on 12 May. Everyone in the seven-man team reached the summit. (this was the central (west) summit and not the true summit, and is not recorded).[6]
Scientific expeditions
edit- 1992: Measurement of Everest (8848m) on 29 September.
- 1993: Dhaulagiri (8167m) on 6 October.
- 1994: Lhotse (8516m).
- 1995: Makalu (8481m) on 7 May (this is disputed by Elizabeth Hawley and is not formally recorded).
- 1995: Disappeared on Kangchenjunga (8586m) with Pierre Royer and their Sherpa on 6 October near the summit.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Climbers with 10 to 14 MAIN 8000ers". 8000ers.com (Eberhard Jurgalski). 2011.
- ^ Keeper of the Mountains: The Elizabeth Hawley Story. Rocky Mountain Books. 5 October 2012. pp. 189–195. ISBN 978-1927330159.
- ^ Ed Viesturs, David Roberts (2012). The Will to Climb: Obsession and Commitment and the Quest to Climb Annapurna--The World's Deadliest Peak. Crown/Archetype. p. 133. ISBN 9780307720436.
- ^ Cortinovis, Francesca (October 6, 2016). "Oggi moriva Benoit Chamoux, un video per ricordarlo". montagna.tv (in Italian). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "Winterk2dis31". K2news.com. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
- ^ "Asia, Tibet, Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma Central (West) Summit". American Alpine Journal. 1991.
External links
edit- Benoit Chamoux The Montagnes Website
- Fondation Benoit Chamoux (in French)
- "La Grande Neige" (in French) book about the repercussions of Benoit's disappearance written by his widow, Fabienne Clauss