Henry Russell (explorer)

Henry Russell was a French explorer born in Toulouse in 1834. He died in Biarritz in 1909 and was buried in Pau, in France. 
His father was from Ireland, but his mother was from the South-West of France. 
When he was 24 years old, he began to climb the Pyrenees mountains. When he got lost in the mountains in Gavarnie, he almost died because of a big storm on that night. 
At the same time, he made two trips in the world: the first in North-America and the second in Russia, in China, in Australia and in India. 
However when he was 27, he decided to stay in the Pyrenees until the end of his life, from 1861 to 1909.
He is famous especially for the first ascents of a lot of peaks, alone or with companions. 
What is the most famous aspect in his life is his love for the highest French mountain of Pyrenees called Vignemale (3293m). He climbed this peak thirty-third times, and the last time was in 1904, when he was 70 years old. He loved it so much that he wanted to become the owner of it. In 1888, he asked the prefect, who granted him a concession for 99 years. The price was 1 franc per year. Also, he dug near the top 7 caves to stay in during the summer and to invite his friends. He organized several banquets in these caves with a lot of famous people. The last cave was 'The Cave of Paradise'. It was only 18 meters under the top. Today we can still see these caves above the glacier of Vignemale.