Patrick Gabarrou (France)

Patrick Gabarrou – climber, 300 first ascents in the Alps – Presentation day of BanskoFilmFest 2015 – 26 November, Big Hall, Culture Center “N. Vapcarov”, Bansko

Patrick Gabarrou aka “Le Gab” (born 19 July 1951 in Évreux), is a French mountaineer and mountain guide who is credited with more than 300 first ascents, 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, 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.

He has been the president of the international environmental NGO Mountain Wilderness from 2006 to 2010. He is mostly an ice climber, and is considered to be a pioneer of the modern wave of ice climbing

Mountain routes

Boivin-Gabarrou on the north face of Les Droites (with Jean-Marc Boivin), 1975

Supercouloir and Gabarrou-Albinoni on Mont Blanc du Tacul

Hypercouloir on Mont Blanc (with Pierre-Alain Steiner), 1982

Divine Providence on the Grand Pilier d’Angle, 1984

Gabarrou-Silvy on the Aiguille Sans Nom, 1985

Directissime on the Grandes Jorasses (with Hervé Bouvard), 1986

Aux amis disparus on the Matterhorn (with Lionel Daudet)

Directissime de la Margerita on Monte Rosa (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[2]

René Croft between the Boivin-Gabarrou and the Barnoud-Marsigny on the north face of Les Droites (with Ben O’Connor-Croft), 25-26 April 2013

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 Jean-Marc Boivin, 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, with Ben O’Conn