Loulou Boulaz

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Loulou (Louise) Boulaz (born February 6, 1908 in Avenches ; † June 13, 1991 in Geneva ) was one of the first female extreme mountaineers in Switzerland and a ski racer .

Life

Loulou Boulaz came from a simple family, her parents were often unemployed. She attended a business school, worked as a journalist and at the International Labor Organization in Geneva. After her retirement, she studied history and sociology . Throughout her life she was politically active on the left, which is why she was called "Loulou la Rouge".

As early as the thirties of the last century, she dared to venture into the great walls of the Alps, sometimes in a purely female rope team. Her attempt on the north face of the Eiger on July 20, 1937 with Pierre Bonnant made headlines . Her fourth attempt on the Eigerwand with Michel Vaucher , Yvette Vaucher and Michel Darbellay also ended in 1962 with a spectacular retreat from the ramp.

She undertook difficult tours with, among others, Raymond Lambert and her partner Pierre Bonnant, whose feet froze to death while climbing the Walker pillar in 1952.

From 1936 to 1941 she was a member of the Swiss national ski team and reached fourth place in the slalom at the 1937 World Ski Championships in Chamonix .

She took part in expeditions to the Caucasus and the Himalayas , in particular the tragic women's expedition to Cho Oyu in 1959, in which two women and three Sherpas were killed in an avalanche.

Loulou Boulaz was an honorary member of the Geneva section of the Swiss Alpine Club and an honorary member of the Alpine Club .

Important inspections (selection)

  • 1933 Dent du Géant south-west face. First women's ascent.
  • 1935 Aiguille Noire de Peuterey south ridge. First women's ascent.
  • 1935 Grandes Jorasses north face, Croz pillars. Second ascent, first women's ascent.
  • 1935 Petit Dru north face. Second ascent, first women's ascent.
  • 1938 Bec d'Oiseau east face, first ascent.
  • 1940, 1.8. Studerhorn north face. First ascent with Pierre Bonnant.
  • 1949 Mont Blanc Brenva flank, Poire. Third ascent, first women's ascent.
  • 1952 Grande Jorasses, Walker pillar. First women's ascent.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Caroline Fink , Karin Steinbach Tarnutzer : First on the rope. Pioneers in rock and ice. Tyrolia Verlag , Innsbruck-Vienna 2013.
  2. ^ Rainer Rettner: Eiger. Triumphs and tragedies 1932–1938. AS Verlag , Zurich 2008.
  3. ^ Rainer Rettner: Race for the great north faces. AS Verlag, Zurich 2010.
  4. ↑ Claude Remy: Temperament, Passion and Charm. In: Marco Volken : Badile. Granite cathedral. AS Verlag, Zurich 2005.
  5. ^ Geoffrey Templeman: In Memoriam . In: Alpine Journal 1992.
personal data
SURNAME Boulaz, Loulou
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boulaz, Louise
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss alpinist, extreme mountaineer, ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH February 6, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Avenches
DATE OF DEATH June 13, 1991
Place of death Geneva