Robert Paragot

Robert Paragot, a mountaineering legend, was also a great Bleausard. In addition to his far-flung alpine-style expeditions (the south face of Aconcagua, Tour de Mustagh, Jannu), he is the very image of the modest city dweller who devoted himself passionately to high-level mountaineering. Like any good Parisian climber, Robert Paragot began his climbing career in the Fontainebleau forest. A true rock school where he would open several boulders. His son, Christophe Paragot, paid tribute to him, a year after his death, by climbing all the boulders opened by his father in Fontainebleau in the same day. He tells us about an era, a spirit, an emblematic place through his memories and some delightful anecdotes. Far from spectacular images and sporting exploits, this film speaks of a passion, a story of climbing that was made accessible to all. In memory of a great name in mountaineering who, from the modest blocks of the forest, climbed to the highest peaks in the world.

Guido Magnone's incredible adventure begins strangely on the banks of the Ourcq canal among a group of kids who dream of swimming. Guido, the solitary son of "rital", dives to get noticed, succeeds, takes a liking to it, breaks his first record, collects medals. At the same time, he draws, attends the Beaux-Arts, is accepted with open arms and befriends the sculptors César and Féraud. At the end of the war, during a health stay in Chamonix, it is love at first sight for the mountains, climbing. Guido's ascent is now dizzying. He stormed the west face of the Drus, then the Fitzroy and the Tour de Mustagh, summits reputed to be impossible. He rubs shoulders with the greatest, Lionel Terray, Maurice Herzog, and participates in the Makalu expedition, camera in hand, or those of Jannu and Chacraraju. Later, in his fifties, Guido hangs up the carabiners and participates in the foundation of the UCPA

Terray. This name sounds like a challenge and evokes deep respect in the memory of every mountaineer. For all, Lionel Terray remains forever the "Conqueror of the useless", the example of a generous and mature mountaineer, far from any egocentrism and any ambition. Not only a pioneer and witness to the history of mountaineering, Terray is also remembered as a man and a master more than an athlete. Forty years after the tragic death of this extraordinary mountaineer and guide, who liked to think of himself as a "simple mountaineer", his former friends and the youngest generation of mountaineers come together in this film to celebrate and remember his legacy.

History of the first ascent of Aconcagua by the south face in February 1954 by the French shock team led by René Ferlet and composed of Lucien Bérardini, Adrien Dagory, Edmond Denis, Pierre Lesueur, Robert Paragot and Guy Poulet. In seven days of combat, they extricate themselves from the mountain in a pitiful state; all except Robert Paragot will be victims of severe frostbite which earned them amputations, some important as for “Lulu” Bérardini who lost part of his left hand.

Paragot and Bérardini: two climbers who fill all climbing enthusiasts with admiration. In Fontainebleau, Saussois, the Alps, the Andes, the Himalayas, and all over the world, they have left their names attached to the most difficult routes and the most prestigious peaks. Here, they recount only the climbs they completed together: famous expeditions to Aconcagua and Huascarán, firsts in the Alps and the Dolomites. An unwavering friendship, comical and tragic adventures—this is what they share with us in the warm atmosphere of their memories. "La Cordée des Voyous" will be included in Jean Afanassieff's film "La Grande Cordée," which deals with post-war proletarian mountaineering.

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Adventure in Bleau is a documentary about bouldering that takes place in Fontainebleau. Directed by Jean-Paul Janssen in 1980 and produced by Antenne 2, it is part of the series "Les Carnets de l'Aventure" and broadcast on the same television channel. It features different generations of the finest free climbing artists of the time: Patrick Edlinger, Catherine Destivelle, Lucien Bérardini, Jean Pierre Bouvier, and Bertrand Roche 'Zébulon'.

In 1983, the French Mountain Federation (FFM) organized a landmark climbing gathering in Saussois and the Verdon, bringing together generations of the greatest climbers of the time, including Patrick Edlinger, Jean-Claude Droyer, Jerry Moffatt, Jean-Claude Droyer, Robert Paragot, Lucien Bérardini, Ron Fawcett, Jean-Pierre Bouvier, and other major figures. This event symbolized the emergence of modern sport climbing as a practice in its own right in France, with the liberation of legendary routes and the rise of freestyle climbing, notably under the leadership of Droyer and Edlinger. This gathering was a key moment in the dissemination of the freestyle ethic and the evolution of grading, while Saussois and the Verdon were at the forefront of high difficulty in the world.

The French Alpine Club's film about the French expedition to conquer Makalu (8481m) via the west pillar in Nepal, which began on February 24, 1971. Composed of 11 mountaineers, Robert Paragot (expedition leader), Georges Payot, Lucien Berardini, Yannick Seigneur, Claude Jager, Jean-Paul Paris, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, Bernard Mellet, Robert Jacob and Jacques Marchal (surgeon), it took twenty-five days of walking on the Himalayan trails with 460 porters and 18 Sherpas to transport 14 tons of equipment to reach the base camp. Finally, it was Mellet and Seigneur who managed to reach the summit on May 23, 1971: 8481 m, temperature - 30°, oxygen 30%, no wind.

On May 23, 1971, a French expedition led by Robert Paragot successfully climbed Makalu via its west pillar. Makalu is one of the five highest peaks in the world, located in the Himalayas on the Nepalese-Tibetan border. Jean-Pierre Janssen and Lucien Bérardini filmed this expedition, where Robert Paragot spoke about the expedition conditions, life at altitude, and his state of mind as expedition leader. On the return to base camp, Jean-Pierre Janssen interviewed Lucien Berardini, Georges Payot, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, and Jean-Paul Paris, all of whom played a key role in bringing Bernard Mellet and Yannick Seigneur to the summit. Expedition members: Robert Paragot (expedition leader), Georges Payot, Yannick Seigneur, Claude Jager, Jean-Claude Mosca, François Guillot, Bernard Mellet, Lucien Bérardini, Jean-Paul Paris, Robert Jacob, Jacques Marchal (surgeon).

Retrospective of four major peaks climbed by French expeditions: Annapurna (8078m) in 1950; Makalu (8481m) in 1955; Mustagh Tower (7273m) in 1956 and Le Jannu (7710m) in 1962. A film by Lucien Berardini and Jean-Marie Perthus with the support of the French Alpine Club and the FFME (French Mountain and Climbing Federation).

On 28 September 1963, the BBC broadcast a live program of an ascent of Snowdon's Clogwyn du'r Arddu, 'the finest crag in Britain south of Scottish border'. It starred the French climber Robert Paragot alongside the cream of British talent: Joe Brown, Don Whillans, and Ian Mcnaught-Davis. The program had commentary by Chris Brasher and it was transmitted on Grandstand between Davis Cup tennis and Horse racing from Newbury. Grandstand presenter David Coleman introduced the climb as a TV first -the first-ever live coverage of UK mountaineering. Unfortunately, the action was clouded by rain and mist, and many of the cameras failed on the day of the broadcast, so most of the images of the climb ended being a kind of blurred haze.

Three years after the 1959 expedition, abandoned 350m from the summit, Lionel Terray leads a new assault on Jannu, one of the most demanding peaks in the Himalayas. At the base camp, equipment and food rations are prepared. The conditions are optimal and the ascent can begin. The camera follows the progress of the mountaineers and Sherpas as closely as possible, from one high-altitude camp to another: installing fixed ropes, progressing over crevasses, in the middle of frozen towers, vertically down immense ice falls or along the edge of sharp ridges. From 7000m, oxygen bottles become essential, as the difficulty of the climb prevents acclimatization. The expedition is a total success: the majority of its members reach the 7710m summit.