The Scottish team of Guy Robertson and Pete Benson has made the first free ascent of the thirty-eight pitch Gousseault route on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. Famed, and recently deceased, mountaineer Rene Desmaison first attempted the line with Serge Gousseault in 1971. That attempt ended in tragedy, with Gousseault dead and Desmaison nearly there himself, and a bitter controversy over the conduct of the rescue ensued. He returned to finish the climb in 1973 with Giorgio Bertone and Michel Claret at a grade of VI 6a A1/A2, 1200m. The route has only seen six successful ascents since; the Scots' most recent is the first to eliminate aid for a new grade of VI 6c M5/M6, 1200m.
Read the full story by Luke Bauer and Luca Signorelli at Alpinist.com.
but isn't it a wee bit late to be reporting it as "news" now? Better late than never and it gives a European take on it - impressive piece of climbing.
We like, where possible, to put significant ascents on the news page as a matter of record (it means they are searchable). At the moment we don't get all, but we are trying to rectify that. I haven't managed to find a date of ascent at either Scottish Climbs (trip report posted 18th Oct) or at Alpinist.com (an affiliate site of UKC) which was posted on 24th Oct. And Norrie posted this ascent at UKC on 18th Oct. It's now the 26th October......you could ignore the News page at UKC and buy a magazine in a months time to read about it.
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