Loulou Boulaz

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

Life

Loulou Boulaz came from a simple family, her parents were often unemployed. She attended a trade school, worked as a journalist and at the International Labour Organization in Geneva. After her retirement, she studied history and sociology. Life she was engaged in politics on the left, which is why they " Loulou la Rouge " called.

Already in the thirties of the last century, they ventured into the large faces of the Alps, partly in pure woman roped. Headlines made ​​her attempt at the Eiger North Face on 20 July 1937, Pierre Bonnant. Even her fourth attempt at the Eiger wall with Michel Vaucher, Vaucher Yvette and Michel Darbellay ended 1962 with a spectacular retreat from the ramp.

Difficult tours they undertook, inter alia, with Raymond Lambert and her partner Pierre Bonnant in 1952 froze both feet at the joint ascent of the Walker pillar.

1936-1941 she was a member of the Swiss National Ski Team, reaching 1937 at the World Ski Championships in Chamonix ranked fourth in the slalom.

She took part in expeditions to the Caucasus and the Himalaya, particularly on the tragic verlaufenen woman expedition to Cho Oyu in 1959, two women and three Sherpas died 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.