Yannick Graziani

Next came the Himalayas. Graziani belongs to the generation that bypassed the era of massive Himalayan expeditions, instead fully embracing the "alpine style"—accepting the high level of commitment and the significant risk of failure inherent to that approach. He traveled to the Everest region with his friend Christian Trommsdorff in 1997 and 1998, tackling peaks in alpine style. Later, joined by Patrick Wagnon, the trio undertook a series of expeditions, forming the formidable TGW rope team (Trommsdorff-Graziani-Wagnon). For nearly a decade, Yannick Graziani and two friends pioneered new routes and claimed first ascents on 7,000-meter peaks across Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet, amassing a remarkable and eclectic list of successes throughout the Himalayas—from Makalu (via the southeast ridge and east face) to Chomo Lonzo, Annapurna, Nemjung, Chaukhamba II, and Pumari Chisch. The three climbers championed "alpine style" as the only way to go: rejecting supplemental oxygen, high-altitude porters, and the pre-equipping of the mountain.

In the autumn of 2013, Annapurna’s formidable south face was climbed twice: first solo by the phenomenal Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck, and then, two weeks later, by the French team of Yannick Graziani and Stéphane Benoist. In 2013, they reached the 8,091-meter summit of Annapurna via the south face after an eight-day ascent. Stéphane suffered severe frostbite and developed a lung infection. The descent was a nightmare. Upon reaching 6,700 meters at nightfall, their headlamp batteries died. Yannick decided they would use the glow from their camping stove for light; they had to press on at all costs. He set up rappels and descended with the gas stove tucked inside his jacket. At each stage, he would light the stove and then lower Stéphane. They repeated this process for hours. It took two days and two nights to descend to Camp 1, from where they were evacuated by helicopter. Yannick saved the team, demonstrating that their bond—forged by the rope—could transcend the sum of its parts.

The 2014 Piolet d'Or jury awarded them a special mention for this ascent in honor of the camaraderie of the rope team.