Jean Lavigne

Mark Wright

Active member
It is with great sadness that I report the death of Jean Lavigne. Jean was one of the principal explorers of the Gouffre Berger and, with Fernand Petzl, led the International team to the bottom of the cave on the 12th August 1956.

Jean was kind enough to write a chapter for the Berger book and provided most of the black and white photographs. The two occasions I visited Jean and his wife Abelle in Grenoble will be remembered forever. Jean was a real character and had us all in stitches with his stories of the early exploration of the Berger and many other caves in the Chartreuse and Vercors regions.

Jean died after a long illness in hospital earlier this week at the age of 90. Our thoughts go to Abelle and their family.

Mark
 
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