Patrick Gabarrou a.k.a. "Le Gab" (born 19 July 1951 in

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

), is a French

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

and mountain guide who is credited with more than 300

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

s, most of them in the Mont Blanc massif. He has been the president of the international environmental NGO Mountain Wilderness from 2006 to 2010. He is mostly an

ice climber is a 1985 Platformer, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for both the arcade Nintendo VS. System, VS. System and the Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System console. The main protagonists, Popo and Nana, col ...

, and is considered to be a pioneer of the modern wave of ice climbing. He also opened routes in several other regions like Canada, Bolivia and Patagonia.

First ascents

Mountain routes

* ''Boivin-Gabarrou'' on the north face 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 Ulri ...

(with

Jean-Marc Boivin Jean-Marc Boivin (6 April 1951 – 17 February 1990) was a French mountaineer, extreme skier, hang glider and paraglider pilot, speleologist, BASE jumper, film maker and author. The holder of several altitude records for hang gliding and paragl ...

), 1975 * ''Supercouloir'' and Gabarrou-Albinoni on

Mont Blanc du Tacul Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. The official first ascent of Mont Blanc du Tacul was by a guideless party comprising Charles H ...

* ''Hypercouloir'' on

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

(with Pierre-Alain Steiner), 1982 * ''Divine Providence'' on the

Grand Pilier d'Angle The Grand Pilier d'Angle (4,243 m) is a buttress on the southern side of Mont Blanc in the Mont Blanc massif in the Aosta Valley, Italy. The first ascent from the valley was by James Eccles with guides Michel Payot and Alphonse Payot on 30 July ...

, 1984 * ''Gabarrou-Silvy'' on the Aiguille Sans Nom, 1985 * ''Directissime'' on the

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (; 4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by H ...

(with Hervé Bouvard), 1986 * ''Aux amis disparus'' on the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

(with Lionel Daudet) * ''Directissime de la Margerita'' on

Monte Rosa Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...

(with Christian Appertet), 1992 * ''Alexis'' on Point Whymper of the Grandes Jorasses (with Benoît Robert), 1993 * ''A Leï'' on the Grandes Jorasses (with Philippe Batoux and Benoît Robert), February 2003 * ''Heidi'' on the Grandes Jorasses (with Philippe Batoux and Christophe Dumarest), 17–21 March 2005 * ''Ciao Walter'' on Mont-Blanc (with Simon Deniel and Ben O'Connor-Croft), 2012 * ''Brigite'' on the Arête des Grands Montets (with his wife Franca et Philippe Lansard), 5 April 2013 * ''René Croft'' between the ''Boivin-Gabarrou'' and the ''Barnoud-Marsigny'' on the north face of

(with Ben O'Connor-Croft), 25–26 April 2013 * ''Padre Pio, Une Echelle Vers le Ciel'' on the south face of

, 2015 (see Alpinist article)

Ice climbs

* ''Cascade Notre Dame'', 700 m, V, WI6 (with François Marsigny), 1984 * ''Freneysie Pascale'', 1984 * ''Abominette'', 700 m, IV, 5.8, WI3 (with Christophe Profit and Sylviane Tavernier), 1984 * ''Fantomastic'', 700 m, V, WI6 (with François Marsigny), 1985 * ''Patagonic'', 700 m, M6, V+, WI6, A1 (with Christophe Dumarest), 2003

Skiing

* First descent of the north face of the Col de Peuterey, with

, 1977 * Winner, French championship of ski-mountaineering 1989, together with Pierre d'Alboy * Sixth place, Pierra Menta 1989, together with Pierre d'Alboy * Fourth, Pierra Menta 1991, together with Lionel Mailly * First descent of the south face of the

Tour Noir The Tour Noir is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif on the Swiss- French border. It is located between the Aiguille d'Argentière The Aiguille d'Argentière () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif, Mont Blanc massif on the border between ...

, with Ben O’Connor-Croft, 16 April 2013

References

External links

Gabarrou's personal web site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabarrou, Patrick Alpine guides French mountain climbers French male ski mountaineers Sportspeople from Évreux Living people 1951 births Tibet freedom activists Ice climbers 20th-century French sportsmen