Denise Escande

30 August 1962 - Grandes Jorasses Walker spur, bivouac below the Red chimneys with my pal "Habib" (Marcel Zerf) and Denise Escande, the "toughest" French lady climber of the time. With Vincent Couttet,one of her much loved guides we had a small memorial plate placed in the Chamonix cemetary stating: "Denise Escande 25.10.1914 - 3.05.2007 Her mazot in Les Moussoux "La Tirelire" has been during 40 years the base camp of the greatest alpinists and her many mountain guides to whom she was linked with a friendship and an unfailing gratitude. She discovered alpinism when 35 years old and devoted the rest of her life to it. She liked mountains and big routes. We will remember the undomitable courage of this great lady of Alpinism" Her plate sits besides that of Jean Vincendon (aged 24 from Paris) and François Henri (aged 22 from Brussels) who died on top of Mont Blanc in December 1956. She had climbed with Vincendon on the Fontainebleau boulders and now sits besides him.