Pierre Allain (7 January 1904 – 19 December 2000) was a French alpinist who began climbing in the 1920s. In the 1930s he was joined by several others at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

, where his group of "'Bleausards" developed a love of

bouldering Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed on small rock formations or Climbing wall, artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or Climbing harness, harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers ...

that went beyond simple training for the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The famous ''Allain Angle'' ( V2 – V3), done in 1934, is a testament to their dedication and to the resulting elevation of standards. In Allain's 1949 book, ''Alpinisme et Competition'', he expresses his appreciation of this simple and understated climbing specialty. To facilitate the rock-climbing experience he developed – in the 1930s – the first rubber-soled, soft shoes specifically engineered for serious rock work. He wore these on the sandstone boulders as well as on the granite walls of the Alps, where he made several famous first ascents, including the north face of the

Aiguille du Dru The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French. The ...

. These shoes, known as "PAs", became the model for future generations of climbing footwear. Indeed, the version available in the 1950s looked remarkably like modern climbing footwear. In the 1950s Allain opened a mountaineering store in Paris, where, among other innovative items, he offered the first modern alloy

carabiner A carabiner or karabiner (), often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notabl ...

s. Prior to that time, these indispensable snaplinks were made of heavy steel. His brand name then became "EB", out of his associate's name Edmond Bourdonneau who purchased the store from him in 1950, and now when Allain's name comes up these days, it is more frequently in connection with his pioneering bouldering efforts at

.''Pierre Allain: alpiniste visionnaire et inventeur du chausson d'escalade''
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References

French rock climbers French mountain climbers 1904 births 2000 deaths Sportspeople from Fontainebleau {{France-bio-stub