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André Roch , ( 21 August 1906, Hermance, Switzerland - 19 November 2002, Geneva), , was a mountaineer, avalanche expert, skier, resort developer, engineer, and author.
Mr. Roch is best known for having planned and surveyed the Aspen, Colorado ski resort, and also as an adviser on avalanche management whose expertise was sought throughout the world
Mountaineering Accomplishments[edit]
Roch became a member of the Swiss Alpine Club in 1928 and later became its president.
Beginning in 1931, Roch pioneered the first ascent of multiple routes on Mount Blanc Massif.
Over the course of his life, Roch made 25 first ascents in the Alps and 27 first ascents in Asia. [1]
When Andre Roch was 45 years old, in 1952, he was the most experienced member of a group of 4 Swiss climbers who, along with Tenzing Norgay pioneered the route on Mt. Everest which Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay would use to reach the summit the following year. [1] [2] [3]
While a university student in Oregon in 1931 [4] , Roch was a member of the Cascade Ski Club. On April 26, 1931, Roch and two fellow members of the Cascade Ski Club, Hjalmar Hvam and Arne Stene, became the first to descend on skis from the summit of Mt. Hood. [5] He last climbed in the Himalayas at age 80. [6] Roch drew on this experience to publish more than a dozen books on Mountaineering.
Avalanche Expert[edit]
Roch joined the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in the early 1930's and became its director in 1949, a post he was to hold for more than 30 years. During this period, Mr. Roch published many scientific articles on avalanche prediction, snow pack evaluation, and glaciation. Mr. Roch contributed to advances in avalanche safety in the Alps, in Scotland and in the US. [7] He was the first described the different types of snow pack that occur in the United States and it was his lectures and published papers that prompted the US Forest Service to set up facilities at several western site to study avalanche safety and prevention. [4]
Over the course of his career, he was a consultant on avalanche issues to private corporations, government agencies and courts in various countries. [8] [9]
His experience with avalanches extended beyond the scientific observation, as he was personally caught in an avalanche on 3 occasions, and also was skiing with his son when his son was swept away by an avalanche. After he and his son had survived these events, his best known quote became "The avalanche does not know that you are an expert." [1] [7]
Aspen Resort Development[edit]
By 1936, Roch was already renowned as an expert on avalanche prediction, and also as a climbing guide. Colorado investors, Ted Ryan, and two-time Olympic bobsled gold-medalist Billy Fiske consequently hired Roch to come to Aspen, Colorado to assist in development of a ski resort. Roch conducted a survey of Hayden Peak, and laid out trails for the resort that remains at Aspen today. While in the valley, he gave ski lessons and helped form what later became the Aspen Ski Club, (known today as the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club). The first ski trail, 'Roch Run' opened in 1937,[10] but while awaiting further funding, WWII broke out and development halted. When the resort opened in 1946, a ski racing trophy, the Roch Cup was awarded to the winner of the combined downhill and slalom race at Aspen. [2] This trophy commemorating Roch has been won at various times by noted skiers including Billy Kidd, Franz Klammer and A. J. Kitt[11]
Personal Life[edit]
Andre Roch was born near Geneva, Switzerland in 1906 and was the son of an academic physician who would later become the president of the University of Geneva. He was introduced to mountain sports by his father who was an avid climber and he learned to ski at an early age. In his youth he traveled and pursued university education in the United States.[4] Roch was married twice. He had 3 children with wife Emilie Dollfus, including one son and two daughters. Roch suffered personal tragedy when one of his daughters, along with her friend, were killed in a climbing accident in 1962. This accident would have taken Roch's life as well if a rope connecting him to his daughter had not broken.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Goodwin, Stephen (20 Nov 2002). "André Roch, Swiss climber and expert on avalanches". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ a b Gardner-Smith, Brent (21 Nov 2002). "Aspen pioneer Roch dies at 96". Aspen Times. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Roch, Andre (1952). Everest: 1952 (in French). Geneva, Switzerland: Editions Jeheber.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Lowell, Skoog (25 Jul 2006). "Edward R. LaChapelle - Personal Communication Taped phone interview, 5 December 2001". Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project. Archived from the original on 25 Jul 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ Keil, Bill (2009-12-20). "Ski athlete and innovator, Hvam did it all". The Oregonian. pp. T6. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ "Andre Roch, 96; Swiss Mountaineer, Avalanche Researcher". Los Angeles Times. 23 November 2002. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ a b "Obituaries: Andre Roch". The Scotsman. 5 Dec 2002. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ Andre, Roch (March, 1992). "THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE ALPINE MEADOWS AVALANCHE". The Avalanche Review. 10 (5). Retrieved 2009-12-20.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Fagan, John (March, 1992). "A Defense Attorney's Perspective". The Avalanche Review. 10 (5). Retrieved 2009-12-20.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Sport: Roch Run". Time Magazine. 17 March 1941. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "World Cup Ski Racing in Aspen: A Timeline of Events". AspenWorldCup.com. Archived from the original on 6 Dec 2000. Retrieved 2009-12-20.