The Barre des Ecrins

The Barre des Ecrins (at an altitude of 4 102m , situated in the  direction of the Black Glacier) was climbed for the first time in 1864, from the North side, by Edouard Whymper accompanied  by Moore, Walker as well as his guides Almer and Michel. The Southern slope, was climbed for the first time by Henri Duhamel in 1880, with his guides Pierre Gaspard father and son from Bérarde. Then then came the time of a search for increasingly more difficult routes, In 1893, Auguste Reynier with his guides Joseph Turc and Maximin Gaspard, opened the way which now carries his name on the South-East face. The Southern column was opened in 1944 by Jeanne and Jean Franco.