La Meije
| Meije | |
|---|---|
La Meije
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,984 m (13,071 ft) |
| Prominence | 821 m (2,694 ft) |
| Listing | Alpine mountains above 3000 m |
| Coordinates | 45°00′17″N 6°18′31″E / 45.00472°N 6.30861°ECoordinates: 45°00′17″N 6°18′31″E / 45.00472°N 6.30861°E |
| Geography | |
 Meije
France
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| Location | Isère - Hautes-Alpes, France |
| Parent range | Dauphiné Alps |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1877 by E.B. de Castelnau and P. Gaspard and son |
| Easiest route | Southwest face |
La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère départements. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well known for its off-piste and extreme skiing possibilities, and also dominates the view west of the Col du Lautaret. It is the second highest mountain of the Écrins after Barre des Écrins
Neighboring peaks are Le Râteau (3,809 m) to the west, past the Brèche de la Meije (3,357 m) and (3,823 m) and Pic Gaspard (3,881 m) to the southeast, past the Brèche Maximin Gaspard (3,723 m)
The central and second highest summit has five teeth, the highest of which is known as Doigt de Dieu (English: Finger of God). This summit was reached from the northeast on June 28, 1870, by Christian and Ulrich Almer and Christian Gertsch, guiding Meta Brevoort and W.A.B. Coolidge. The ridge from the central to the main, Western peak, which is 13 meters higher, was considered an insurmountable obstacle for the next 15 years.
The Western true summit of La Meije, the Grand Pic, is notorious in that there is no "easy" path to its top and it was the last major peak in the Alps to be summited. The first ascent was eventually made from the southwest on 16 August 1877 by father and son Pierre Gaspard and their client Emmanuel Boileau de Castelnau. Their approach, over the south buttress Arête du Promontoire and further over the Glacier Carré and the southwest face of the Grand Pic is now the normal route.
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Wikipedia