Biography

René Ferlet, born in Accolay (Yonne) on January 22, 1920 and died on April 9, 19891 in Montpellier, was a mountaineer who participated in 1946 in the third ascent of the Walker spur on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses.

René Ferlet was born in Accolay, in Yonne, in 1920. Before the Second World War, he met Pierre Allain on the rocks of Fontainebleau. Engaged as a volunteer in 1939, he was incorporated into a section of scouts-skiers in the Queyras then was demobilized in 19412. In 1943, he met Lionel Terray in Chamonix with whom he made a series of ascents including the first ascent of the face direct northwest of the Peigne. In the post-war years, the party was one of the best climbers in the forest of Fontainebleau, around the "master" Pierre Allain. Ferlet particularly distinguished himself in 1946 at Bas-Cuvier, by completing the first climb of the Marie-Rose, the first boulder rated 6a, a slab highly coveted by the “bleausards”. Pierre Allain did the first rehearsal immediately afterwards. At the time, the Marie-Rose was rated 6b, the Angle Allain being considered the first 6a (opened in 1935). But with advances in climbing shoes, these two historic passages have been given a notch discount: the Angle Allain at 5c and the Marie-Rose at 6a. They retain the "obligatory passages" highly respected by bouldering enthusiasts.

In 1951, René Ferlet led the first French expedition to the Patagonian Cordillera during which Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone succeeded in the first ascent of Fitz Roy (February 2, 1952). In 1953, he supervised the French expedition which climbed the south face of Aconcagua for the first time.

René Ferlet was a member of the Groupe de Haute Montagne and of the Société des Explorateurs Français and administrative secretary of the French Alpine Club and the Club Alpin Français and Fédération Française de la Montagne et de l'Escalade.