Two mountain guides climb the seven peaks of Mont-Blanc topped with statues of Virgin Mary

In an unprecedented succession of ascents, two French guides, Guillaume Pierrel and Lucien Boucansaud visited, in just ten days, the seven Virgin Marys of the massif.

Was it a spiritual retreat at altitude, an inner journey or an ambitious sporting challenge? No doubt, a little bit of all of this at once. In ten days, the mountain guides Guillaume Pierrel and Lucien Boucansaud have chained a total of 130 kilometers and 16,000 of altitude difference to climb the seven summits of the Mont-Blanc massif where statues of the Virgin Mary are enthroned.

“We are not practicing Christians, Guillaume explains to Le Figaro, but we wanted to follow in the footsteps of these men who installed these statues, animated by a faith that reflected values and a love of the mountain and its beauty. The two friends left the church of Courmayeur, on the Italian side, and arrived in Chamonix.

Since the golden age of the conquest of the summits in the nineteenth century, which was also the great Marian century par excellence, several Madonnas have been hoisted on the back of men on seven summits of the Mont Blanc massif. The latest was installed at the small bell tower of the Portalet by a guide who accompanied the rope of the two Frenchmen in the ascent of the latter. The two climbers had planned a rigorous route to connect the affected peaks on foot, paragliding and cycling. In particular, they climbed the mythical summits of the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey, the Dent du Géant, or the Drus and Grépon.

Sometimes, in the mountains, there is a little Madonna who is there, who looks at us and protects us, "also reports Guillaume Pierrel. And each time, these silent virgins, these ladies from above, welcomed them, as a "comforting" encounter. "These madonnas are beautiful, they transform the mountain into a sanctuary," adds Lucien. "When you arrive, you put your hand on your head, as if you were doing a check, then you say a word to him without waiting for an answer."

(...) The most complicated was to deal with the capricious weather of this month of June. "We had a lot of wind, rain and hail, and the weather was very unstable."

The Quiet Virgins testify to these violent storms of high mountains where it is better not to have lingered in the heights. "They often have lightning strikes on the head."

 The project was born following a bivouac at the top of Grépon, "says Lucien who admits his crush. "She is the most beautiful of the Virgins, the queen of the Madonnas, she wears a crown and watches over the valley." This statue was installed by Ravanel, known as the Red, in the 1920s. This famous Chamonix guide, very religious, had made the vow after a misadventure in the high mountains where he had almost lost his life, to install a Virgin at the top of this majestic rocky point. A large expedition accompanied by a priest had hoisted the bronze statue to the top. This feat followed other similar installations, notably by Italians with the tooth of the Giant.

By happy coincidence, Lucien found in his family home a vestige of this ascent. "My mother found in the drawer of a cabinet of her barn photos and letters of this famous day because one of the members lived in the house," he explains.

After performing this technical sequence, which earned them two openings of ways of the season, the two friends should release a film. In their words, it will be a way to "highlight the beauty of this cultural heritage", and to highlight this "heritage". This one should retrace their adventure, filmed with a drone in particular, and also return, as a tribute, on the exploits of the men who one day, brought their faith to the highest of the mountains of Mont Blanc.

The two French guides climbed, in this order, the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey, the Round Tower, the Dent du Géant, Mont Dolent, the Petit clocher du Portalet, the Drus, the Grépon.

Source: lefigaro  June 23, 2023

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