Jean-Marc Boivin

Jean-Marc Boivin (6 April 1951 – 17 February 1990) was a French mountaineer, extreme skier, hang glider and paraglider pilot, speleologist, BASE jumper, film maker and author. The holder of several altitude records for hang gliding and paragliding, the creator of numerous first ascents and first ski descents in the Alps, a member of the team that broke the record for a sub-glacial dive and the first person to paraglide from the summit of Mount Everest, Boivin was a pioneer of extreme sports. He died from injuries incurred after BASE jumping off Angel Falls in Venezuela, the highest waterfall in the world.

Early life Boivin was born in Dijon in 1951. He went to secondary school in Dijon, Belfort and Tournus, and gained his Baccalauréat de technicien in 1971. Between 1972 and 1973 he studied mechanical manufacturing in Sens. as well as in Brochon, Fixin and Saffres, and skied in the Jura mountains.

The Grand Pilier d'Angle. In 1975 Boivin and Patrick Vallençant added a direct finish to the classic Cecchinel-Nominé route. In 1978 Boivin soloed the Bonatti-Zapelli route, which takes the centre of the face.

Extreme sports

Alpinism Boivin was one of the leading alpinists of his era, making solo ascents of some of the hardest routes in the Alps during the 1970s: the Albinoni-Gabarrou goulotte on Mont Blanc du Tacul in 1972, the Lagarde-Ségogne on the Aiguille du Plan in 1976 and the Bonatti-Zapelli on the Grand Pilier d'Angle in 1978. In 1975, Boivin and Gabarrou made first ascents of the direct north faces of Les Droites and the Aiguille Verte, followed by the Supercouloir on Mont Blanc du Tacul, and came to be seen as "the young new wave of the moment". On 31 July 1983 Boivin soloed the north face of the Eiger in 7 hours, finishing the climb via the Harlin Direttissima.

He is well known for being one of the leading practitioners of the concept of enchaînement, in which several difficult climbs are undertaken in one outing (with descents often being made by hang glider, paraglider or ski). On 14 August 1981, together with Patrick Berhault, he climbed the south face of the Aiguille du Fou and the American Direct on the Aiguille du Dru, flying to the Dru from the summit of the Aiguille de Blaitière by hang glider. On 20 February 1985 he made the first winter solo ascent of the Bettembourg-Thivierge on the Aiguille Verte, descending the Whymper Couloir by ski. he linked up ascents of the north faces ("les 4 Glorieuses") (from the Shoulder, after which he soloed the Schmid route on the north face in 4 hours 10 minutes) Boivin set several records on Mount Everest in 1988: highest paraglider flight, first paraglider descent and fastest descent of the mountain.

Boivin made a number of films of his ski descents, stunning people who had never seen such extreme descents before. One person who saw footage of Boivin at the Telluride Film Festival said: "My hands broke a sweat as I watched Boivin. He'd make a turn, then slide for 40 feet with his skis shaking and uphill hand dragging on the snow, finally gaining enough control to make another 'turn'. It was an awesome display and made us realize just what could be done using skis as a tool of alpinism."| after making an ascent of the peak. On 26 September 1988, having climbed the mountain via the south-east ridge, Boivin made the first paraglider descent of Mount Everest, in the process creating the record for the fastest descent of the mountain and the highest paraglider flight. Boivin said: "I was tired when I reached the top because I had broken much of the trail, and to run at this altitude was quite hard." Boivin ran from below the summit on 40-degree slopes to launch his paraglider, reaching Camp II at in 12 minutes (some sources say 11 minutes).

On 14 April 1988, he broke the record for distance travelled by paraglider, flying from Mont Maudit in the Mont Blanc massif, arriving at Orsière having flown over the Aiguille Verte, the Aiguille du Tour and Pointe d'Orny.

Death On 16 February 1990, while being filmed by a TV crew for the French programme Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'extrême, Boivin made a c. BASE jump down Angel Falls in Venezuela, the highest waterfall in the world. This was a jump from the highest point of the falls. jumped and was injured at the foot of the falls. Boivin decided to make his jump immediately afterwards, carrying help for the injured woman. According to one account, on his descent he hit a tree and was seriously injured with multiple fractures.

Commemoration Lycée Jean-Marc Boivin in Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur, opened on 5 October 1990 Complexe Sportif Jean-Marc Boivin in Nolay Salle Jean-Marc Boivin in the Club alpin français building in Dijon Jean-Marc Boivin footpath in Nolay ( long with of ascent and descent)