Jean-Christophe Lafaille | |
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![]() Jean-Christophe Lafaille (left) and David Callaway at Shishapangma base camp | |
Born | March 31, 1965 Gap, Hautes-Alpes, France |
Disappeared | January 27, 2006 Makalu |
Occupation | Alpine guide |
Known for | Summits of 11 eight-thousanders, first ascents across many routes in the Alps |
Height | 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) |
Spouse | Katia Lafaille (1998-his death) |
Children | 3 |
Jean-Christophe Lafaille (31 March 1965 – 27 January 2006 [presumed]) was a French climber noted for a number of difficult ascents in the Alps and Himalaya, and for what has been described as "perhaps the finest self-rescue ever performed in the Himalaya",[1] when he was forced to descend the mile-high south face of Annapurna alone with a broken arm, after his climbing partner had been killed in a fall. He climbed eleven of the fourteen eight-thousanders, many of them alone or by previously unclimbed routes, but disappeared during a solo attempt to make the first winter ascent of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain.