Christophe Profit.

The ascent.

The Petit Dru rises above the Chamonix valley. On 30 June 1982, Christophe Profit sets off alone up its west face, following the American Direct. He is twenty-one. No rope connects him to the rock. Three hours and ten minutes later, the ascent is complete.

The route already carries twenty years of history. In July 1962, Gary Hemming and Royal Robbins establish a new line on this granite face. A succession of cracks leads them to the ninety-metre dihedral and existing routes towards the summit. Their climb takes two and a half days. They use ropes and pitons, combining free and aid climbing.

Profit chooses to free solo. In free climbing, hands and feet provide the upward movement, while a rope may protect a fall. Here, there is no rope. Preparation matters as much as the movements on the day. Profit later describes repeated reconnaissance, including a climb with François Marsigny, and intensive training in climbing, running and cross-country skiing.

At Montenvers, Pierre Profit watches the face through binoculars. His son has asked him to be there. In a letter published by Yves Ballu, the father describes his trust in a young man who has become an adult, able to choose his own life. Between them lie the mountain and this unusual appointment.

The familiar film images come later. For Christophe, directed by Nicolas Philibert and released in 1985, Profit repeats sections of the climb for the camera over several days. The film brings his movements on the granite into view; it is not a continuous recording of the 1982 solo.

Christophe Profit.

The speed of the solo does not tell the whole story. Behind those three hours and ten minutes lies a long period of preparation.

In his interview with the GMHM, Profit also describes guiding as a constant thread: sharing the mountains and taking other people into them.

Les Drus.

Les Drus consist of two summits: the Grand Dru, at 3,754 metres, and the Petit Dru, at 3,730 metres. Profit climbs the latter. Its west face presents the valley with roughly a kilometre of granite, cut by cracks and dihedrals.

This architecture is not fixed. Rockfalls in 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2011 profoundly changed the western side. Old photographs preserve an earlier state of the mountain. Looking at the face of 1982 also means looking at a landscape that time has since reshaped.

Sources

Alpine Mag · 1982, Christophe Profit aux Drus Royal Robbins · American Alpine Journal, 1963 Yves Ballu · Pierre Profit Nicolas Philibert · Christophe, 1985 GMHM · Christophe Profit Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix · Les Drus