Nicolas Jaeger (20 October 1946 – 27 April 1980) was a French physician and
alpinist.
Early life
Jaeger was born on 20 October 1946 in
Boulogne-Billancourt, France, the son of photographer Janine Niépce. He made more than 100 solo ascents in the
Mont Blanc massif
The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...
, including more than a dozen first ascents.
Career
Jaeger became a
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 ...
in 1975. On 15 October 1978, he participated in the first French ascent of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
. The team leader was
Pierre Mazeaud
Pierre Mazeaud (; born 24 August 1929) is a French jurist, politician and alpinist.
In February 2004, he was appointed president of the Constitutional Council of France by President of France Jacques Chirac, replacing Yves Guéna, until he wa ...
. Other team members included Jean Afanassieff and
Kurt Diemberger
Kurt Diemberger (born 16 March 1932) is an Austrian mountaineer and author of several books. He is the only living person who has made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres: of Broad Peak in 1957 and of Dhaulagiri in 1960.
Career
...
. Jaeger and Afanassieff were the first to climb and then ski down one of the
14 mountains on Earth higher than . From 27 July to 27 September 1979, he spent 60 days alone at altitude on
Huascarán
Huascarán () (Quechua: Waskaran), Nevado Huascarán or Mataraju is a mountain in the Peruvian province of Yungay ( Ancash Department), situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes. The southern summit of Huascarán (Huascará ...
to study the effects of "super-acclimatisation" on himself. He published an account of his experience in ''Carnets de Solitude'' the same year.
On 27 April 1980, Jaeger was seen for the last time at altitude during an attempted ascent of
Lhotse Shar
Lhotse Shar is a subsidiary mountain of Lhotse, at high. It was first climbed by Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter on 12 May 1970.
Climbing routes and dangers
Lhotse Shar is located far from the main summit's standard route of ascent via the South Co ...
in Nepal, and is presumed dead.
First solo ascents
* 1972 – Arête Sans Nom on the
Aiguille Verte
The Aiguille Verte (; ), which is French for "Green Needle", is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps.
It was first climbed on 29 June 1865 by Edward Whymper, Christian Almer and Franz Biner, a fortnight before the fateful firs ...
* 1972 – North spur of
Les Droites
Les Droites () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps and is the lowest of the 4000-metre peaks in the Alps. The mountain has two summits:
* West summit (3,984 m), first ascent by W. A. B. Coolidge, Christian Almer and Ulrich ...
* 1973 – North–south traverse of the Chamonix Aiguilles
* 1975 –
Bonatti–Gobbi route on the
Grand Pilier d'Angle
See also
*
List of 20th-century summiters of Mount Everest
Mount Everest, at is currently the world's highest mountain and is a particularly desirable peak for mountaineers. This is a list of people who reached the summit of Mount Everest in the 20th century. Overall about 1,383 people summited Evere ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaeger, Nicolas
1946 births
1980 deaths
Alpine guides
French mountain climbers
High-altitude medicine physicians
Lost explorers
Missing person cases in Nepal
Mountaineering deaths
Sport deaths in Nepal