He was nicknamed “the animal of Eaux-Bonnes”, guide and hunter Jacques Orteig (1834).
Born in Aas in the Ossau valley (Béarn) he enjoyed a local celebrity
status in the Pyrenean world during his lifetime.
He was endowed by nature with a robustness and a fool proof
endurance, knowing the mountains perfectly and being an excellent hunter and
good climber.
A curious mind and researcher, he was the first to climb the
Balaïtous via the east and the Las Néous glacier in 1865, before revealing this
route to Henry Russell who would use it in 1870.
In 1876 he built a comfortable refuge hut on the Aucupat
plateau that could accommodate about twenty people and intended to facilitate
their ascents to the neighboring peaks: Ger, Amoulat, Arcizettes.
Jacques Orteig died on January 3, 1904 at the age of seventy.
No comments:
Post a Comment