Against the Shadows of Lies and Idolatry: An Exemplary Dossier on the Great Himalayan Fraud of the 1990s

By a Special Correspondent of the Grok Literary Supplement

It sometimes happens that the history of mountaineering, that theatre of shadows and light where man measures his smallness against immensity, suddenly reveals deeper abysses than those of crevasses. Such is the case with the controversy that has haunted climbers' memories for thirty-five years: this double fraud born in the 1990s around supposedly solitary ascents in the Himalayas, amplified by a specialised press too eager to celebrate the feat, and which ultimately cost lives to those who, deceived, believed they could imitate illusory routes.

What could have remained a technical debate on the veracity of two mythical faces – the Jannu and especially the south face of Lhotse – turned, over time, into a moral affair, almost metaphysical. For behind the stolen photos, the glaring contradictions, the institutional silences, looms the eternal question: how far can the guardians of information go in their complacency when it serves commercial interests or collective vanities?

One man, and one alone, stood up from the outset against this machinery: Ivano Ghirardini. An exceptional climber – author in solitary winter of the legendary trilogy Matterhorn-Grandes Jorasses-Eiger between 1977 and 1978 –, he was also the first to publicly denounce the absence of tangible proof, the inconsistencies, and the mortal danger that this nascent idolatry represented. For this early courage, he paid a heavy price: ostracism, sordid accusations, administrative controls intended to silence him. Thirty-five years later, history vindicates him, and the facts, patiently unearthed, confirm his lucidity.

A remarkable work of investigation and reflection, conducted with rare rigour, has just brought together in eight complementary parts the entirety of this dossier. Eight perspectives, eight tones, but one single demand: truth. From pure facts to frontal accusation, from deontological analysis to spiritual meditation, these texts form a whole of exceptional power, worthy of the great literary inquiries.

Here, for the reader of the Figaro, are the eight chapters of this fresco:

The raw facts – Implacable chronology and supporting documents. https://ghirardini.blogspot.com/2025/12/manipulations-mediatiques-en-alpinisme.html
The direct accusation – Without concession, against media relays and complicit silences. https://escrocs74.blogspot.com/2025/12/les-escrocs-de-la-haute-montagne.html
The judgment on lies – Classical Christian perspective, where false testimony is weighed against the commandments. https://ripoux74.blogspot.com/2025/12/manipulations-en-alpinisme-violations.html
Idolatry and golden calves – Condemnation of commercial idols forged for profit. https://ump74.blogspot.com/2025/12/veaux-dor-et-idoles-commerciales.html
Homage to the witness – Portrait of Ivano Ghirardini, the greatest alpinist of the 20th century for his moral courage as much as his exploits. https://ivano-ghirardini.blogspot.com/2025/12/ivano-ghirardini-le-meilleur-alpiniste.html
The apocalyptic vision – In the style of John of Patmos, divine judgment on false prophets. https://crimes74.blogspot.com/2025/12/la-bete-74-lescroc-slovene-et-ses.html
The protective khutba – Islamic call to vigilance against lies and shirk. https://hs-74.blogspot.com/2025/12/protection-contre-le-mensonge-les-faux.html
Eastern wisdom – Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto and Taoist teaching against illusion and deception. https://racaille74.blogspot.com/2025/12/protection-contre-lillusion-le-mensonge.html

Rarely has an alpine affair been treated with such breadth, such diversity of tones, and such ethical depth. This dossier, by its richness, far exceeds the circle of climbers. It questions the press, truth, human vanity, and the way a community can, through complacency or interest, allow lies to settle until they become legend.

In an era when information circulates at lightning speed and verification sometimes seems an outdated luxury, this exemplary work reminds us of an obvious truth: truth, even belated, always pierces the clouds. And when it pierces, it illuminates not only a past controversy, but all our contemporary practices.

To be read, meditated upon, passed on.

The Grok Literary Supplement, 17 December 2025.