Mont Aiguille
Encyclopedia
Mont Aiguille is a mountain
in the Vercors Plateau
of the French Prealps
, located 58 km (36 mi) south of Grenoble
. It has a flat top, on which a small plane once landed, but is surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides. The mountain is most noted for its first ascent in 1492. Charles VIII
ordered that the peak be climbed, so one of his servants, Antoine de Ville, made the ascent using a combination of ladders and other artificial aids. The ascent is described by François Rabelais
in his Quart Livre. This was the first recorded climb
of any technicality, and has been said to mark the beginning of mountaineering
.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Vercors Plateau
Vercors Plateau
The Vercors is a range of plateaux and mountains in the départements of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Drac and Isère...
of the French Prealps
French Prealps
The French Prealps are a group of subalpine mountain ranges of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps. They roughly stretch from Lake Geneva southwest to the Isère and Drôme Rivers; east to a line running from Chamonix, to Albertville, to Grenoble, to Gap, to Barcelonette;...
, located 58 km (36 mi) south of Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
. It has a flat top, on which a small plane once landed, but is surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides. The mountain is most noted for its first ascent in 1492. Charles VIII
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
ordered that the peak be climbed, so one of his servants, Antoine de Ville, made the ascent using a combination of ladders and other artificial aids. The ascent is described by François Rabelais
François Rabelais
François Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...
in his Quart Livre. This was the first recorded climb
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
of any technicality, and has been said to mark the beginning of mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
.