In winter 1956, the young mountaineers Jean Vincendon and François Henry lost themselves in the Mont-Blanc massif, trapped in the storm. In the form of sound reading, Mali Van Valenberg and Didier Métrailler revive this Alpine tragedy on the alpine terraces of Val-d’Alliez (VS).
December 22, 1956. Students and amateur mountaineers, Jean Vincendon and François Henry, aged 24 and 22, begin the ascent of Mont Blanc by the formidable Brenva needle, for the third winter ascent of the history of this path. Alongside the Italian mountaineer Walter Bonatti, star of the time, and his teammate Silvano Gheser, both met on Christmas Eve in a refuge of the massif, they reach the top when a violent storm forced them to bivouac directly in the wall.
Frozen and exhausted, the four men separate in the morning. While Bonatti and Gheser get out of business a few days later, Vincendon and Henry get lost when descent in a labyrinth of ice, snow and wind, more than 4,000 meters above sea level. From Chamonix, we can see them at the twin. And for the first time, a radio station allows all France to follow the long agony of the two men live, while help cannot coordinate to leave them.
A breathless story
From this Cimes tragedy, the Valais actress and playwright Mali Van Valenberg offers a sound reading to discover on the mountain pastures of Val-d’Alliez during this summer. Faced with the teeth of the South, the spectators are equipped with a helmet which allows them to relive for 45 minutes the breathless narrative of this ascent narrated live by the actress, accompanied by the percussion of Didier Métrailler.
“The knot of the drama is that at that time the first aid in winter does not exist. It is up to the goodwill of the guides to choose to go and save these two mountaineers in distress. (…) We do not see the point of saving two unconscious and in jeopardy as a man to go and rescue them. But some guides, on the contrary, do not support the idea of making them and Despite everything, terrestrial caravans, “said the actress in Vertigo on July 25.
Unsuitable material
The rescuers demand Alouette helicopters, a reliable model adapted to meteorological circumstances. “We refuse to provide them with this equipment and these are Sikorsky [un hélicoptère militaire américain, ndr] who arrive at the aerodrome. They are not at all made to land at altitude in winter at this altitude, “continues Mali Van Valenberg. Then comes a second tragedy: a helicopter crashes at altitude with four people on board, including two rescuers.
>> To see, this RTS archive of 1958 on mountain help using helicopter produced by the Swiss Air Guard (GASS):
We then choose to provide help primarily to the rescuers. Jean Vincendon and François Henry are dying for more than ten days in the mountains, in the middle of winter, then the operations were suspended on January 1, 1957. The bodies of the two unhappy people will only have descended in the valley in the following spring. This tragic event will give birth to help in the professional mountains, as we still know it today.
With this sound reading “The Mont-Blanc affair”, “people come in a summer context, in alpine refreshes, in peace, and have access to an exceptional view in front of them. As the drama progresses, we hope that their vision of the mountain changes, as well as the perceptions they have from this nature which can go from grandiose to total hostility”, concludes the actress Valais.
Interview by Thierry Sartoretti
Adaptation Web: Melissa Härtel
“The Mont-Blanc affair”, with Mali Van Valenberg and Didier Métrailler, to discover in Val-d’Ailliez (VS) on July 30 at 7 p.m. at Lapisa pasture, on August 7 at 7 p.m. at the Canteen de Barmaz and August 21, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the Corbeau refuge.
