Chloé Graftiaux (18 July 1987 in Brussels, Belgium – 21 August 2010 in Courmayeur, Italy) was a Belgian competition climber and alpinist who fell to her death on the 3,773-metre (12,379 ft) Aiguille Noire de Peuterey in the Mont Blanc massif, aged 23.[1][2]

Chloé Graftiaux
Chloé Graftiaux, Vienna 2010
Personal information
Born(1987-07-18)18 July 1987
Brussels, Belgium
Died21 August 2010(2010-08-21) (aged 23)
Courmayeur, Italy
Websitewww.chloegraftiaux.com
Climbing career
Type of climber
Highest grade
Known forBouldering World Cup winner
Medal record
Women's competition climbing
Representing  Belgium
IFSC Climbing World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Boulder
Updated on 23 January 2022.
Graftiaux in the Bouldering World Cup 2010 in Vienna.

In the 2010 season of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup, she won Gold at the World Cup events in Vail, and Sheffield, and finished third in the overall 2010 standings.[2][3] Graftiaux was also a multiple lead climbing champion,[4] and had redpointed to 8b (5.13d), and boulder climbed to 7C (V9).[5] Graftiux was a strong alpinist, climbing to mixed grade M11 and ice climbing to grade WI6,[5] and the French Alpine Club selected her for the 2008-2009 Groupe Excellence Alpinisme.[6] In January 2010, she won the Ice Master-Worldcup ice climbing competition in Valle di Daone in Italy.[1][2][7]

On 21 August 2010, she climbed the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey with her climbing partner, Nicolas. While descending the south face of the mountain a boulder came loose. She was not roped up and she fell to her death.[1][2] In 2011, a non-profit foundation, "Chloé Graftiaux Passion Together", was created to give scholarships to young climbers.[8] In June 2020, Belgian rock climber Anak Verhoeven established Belgium's hardest sport climb and first-ever 8c+/9a route and named it Kraftio in her memory.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Goodbye Chloé Graftiaux". PlanetMountain.com. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Chloe Graftiaux Dies in the Alps". Climbing. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Climbing Worldcup 2010 Standing". International Federation of Sport Climbing. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Born to Climb: Chloé Graftiaux". Millett.com. 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Colton, Nick (28 March 2010). "Chloé Graftiaux tragically killed". British Mountaineering Council. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ Ward, Meghan (24 August 2010). "Graftiaux Takes Fatal Fall on Mont Blanc". Alpinist. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Markus Bendler la conferma, Chloe Graftiaux la sorpresa, semifinali amare per Herbert Klammer ed Angelika Rainer" (in Italian). Ice Master-Worldcup, Valle di Daone. 16 January 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Passion Together, in memory of Chloé Graftiaux". PlanetMountain.com. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Anak Verhoeven frees Kraftio, the hardest climb in Belgium dedicated to Chloé Graftiaux". PlanetMountain.com. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

External links edit