L'Equipement de l'Alpiniste 1900

Tschingel still today remains the most famous tailed-mountaineer of all the times! Indeed the star of Tschingel will shine forever in the history of alpinism, in reason of her value and her challenging mountain climbs. Tschingel become famous as the dog that climbed the Alps, following her master up peak after peak. During her lifetime she made sixty-six major ascents, including eleven first ascents, as well as about a hundred minor ones. She never climbed to gratify her master, being herself a true passioned mountaineer, beaming with joy when she was getting to a summit, crying when the difficulties had been stopping her!

Tschingel was a middle-height she-dog, maybe a crossbreed between a beagle and a spaniel, maybe having something of the dachshund, anyhow extraordinarily nimble and clever, born in a high alp of the Berner Oberland and grown-up in the shadow of the Eigerwand. “Hazel-brown big eyes, expressive and sweet, long ears, grave voice, brown coat and white breast, as well as her paws, short but strong”. This was the nice description written in 1891 by Jean Veneon on a rare pamphlet, published on the “Alpine Journal”. When Tschingel climbed the Mont Blanc with her own paws, she was observed from Chamonix with the telescope and her arrival on the summit was celebrated with a cannon shot. When she returned to the town, she was greeted at the hotel as a true diva of mountaineering.

Tschingel had her baptism of fire on September 1865: at the age of six months she did her first ascent, a true record for that era, crossing her first glacier and climbing a steep snow-slope getting the summit of Tschingel Col - from which she took her name - with her first master, the swiss alpine-guide Christian Almer. After this exploit, Tschingel produced thirty-four puppies at Almer’s home in Grindelwald and acted as a watchdog; it was not until the summer of 1868 that she embarked on her outstanding career.

In the summer of 1865, Miss Meta Brevoort and her fifteen-year-old nephew William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge moved from the USA to Europe and during their stay in Switzerland, they got in touch with the alpine-guide Christian Almer. They adopted Almer as their personal guide and started the winter mountaineering not very popular indeed, becoming the first people to make winter ascents of the Wetterhorn, the Jungfrau and other peaks.

In July 1868, when Tschinghel was three years old, the company had to give up climbing the Eiger due to prohibitive ground conditions. In front of the resentment of Coolidge for the failure, Almer offered him Tschinghel as a gift.

“I do not clearly recollect hearing of Tschingel till July 11, 1868" records Coolidge, "That month Almer had for the first time become guide to my aunt, Miss Brevoort, and myself. On July 8 we all three made our first high climb together (the Wetterhorn) and on July 11 started from Little Scheidegg for the ascent of the Eiger. But the rocks (as often) were glazed, and we had to retreat. This disappointed me bitterly, for I was not quite eighteen years of age. Almer sympathised much with me, and so, as we were walking down that afternoon to Grindelwald, tried to comfort me by promising to give me his dog Tschingel, as one of her sons, Bello by name, was now able to act as watchdog”.

The Dauphiné (/ˌdoʊfiːˈneɪ/ or /ˈdoʊfɪneɪ/; French pronunciation: [do.fi.ne]) or Dauphiné Viennois, formerly Dauphiny in English, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the County of Albon.

In the 12th century, the local ruler Count Guigues IV of Albon (c.1095–1142) bore a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed "le Dauphin" (French for dolphin). His descendants changed their title from Count of Albon to Dauphin of Viennois. The state took the name of Dauphiné. It became a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century.

The Dauphiné is best known for its transfer from the last non-royal Dauphin (who had great debts and no direct heir) to the King of France in 1349. The terms of the transfer stipulated that the heir apparent of France would henceforth be called "le Dauphin" and included significant autonomy and tax exemption for the Dauphiné region, most of which it retained only until 1457, though it remained a province until the French Revolution.

The historical capital is Grenoble and the other main towns are Vienne, Valence, Montélimar, Gap and Romans-sur-Isère. The demonym for its inhabitants is Dauphinois.

Contemporary History

Revolutionary period and Empire

During the French Revolution, Dauphiné was highly represented in Paris by two illustrious notables from Grenoble, Jean Joseph Mounier and Antoine Barnave.

In 1790, Dauphiné was divided in three departments, the current Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes.

The approval of the establishment of the Empire was clear and overwhelming (in Isère, the results showed 82,084 yes and only 12 no).

In 1813, Dauphiné was under the threat of the Austrian army which had invaded Switzerland and Savoy. After having resisted at Fort Barraux, the French troops withdrew to Grenoble. The city, well-defended, contained the Austrian attacks, and the French army defeated the Austrians, forcing them to withdraw at Geneva. But the invasion of France in 1814 resulted in the capitulation of the troops in Dauphiné.

During his return from the island of Elba in 1815, the Emperor was welcomed by the people in the region. At Laffrey, he met the royalist 5th Infantry Regiment of Louis XVIII. Napoleon stepped towards the soldiers and said those famous words: "If there is among you a soldier who wants to kill his Emperor, here I am." The men all joined his cause. Napoleon was then acclaimed at Grenoble. After the defeat at Waterloo, the region suffered from a new invasion of Austrian and Sardinian troops.

19th century

This century corresponds to a significant industrial development of Dauphiné, particularly in the region of Grenoble (glove-making reached its Golden Age at that time) and the Rhone Valley (silk mills). The shoemaking industry also developed in Romans.

During the Second Empire, the Dauphiné saw the construction of its railway network (the first trains arrived at Valence in 1854 and Grenoble in 1858). The driving of new roads in the Vercors and Chartreuse ranges allowed the beginning of tourism in the province. Moreover, several notable persons such as Queen Victoria came in the region with the success of thermal stations such as Uriage-les-Bains.

In 1869, Aristide Berges played a major role in industrializing hydroelectricity production. With the development of his paper mills, industrial development spread to the mountainous region of Dauphiné.

20th century

During the Belle Epoque, the region benefited from major transformations thanks to its economic growth. The Romanche Valley became one of the most important industrial valleys of the country. World War I accelerated that trend. Indeed, in order to sustain the war efforts, new hydroelectric industries settled next to different rivers of the region. Several other businesses moved into armament industries. Chemical companies also settled in the region of Grenoble and near Roussillon in the Rhone Valley.

The textile industry of Dauphiné also benefited from the war. The occupation of northern France resulted in the settlement of many textile enterprises in the region. Vienne for instance produced one fifth of the national production of sheets for the army in 1915.

Several Alpine troops, the Chasseurs Alpins, were killed at war. They were nicknamed the "Blue Devils" for their courage on the field.

The economic development of the region was highlighted by the organisation at Grenoble of the International Exposition of the "Houille Blanche" in 1925, visited by thousands of people.

The interwar period was also characterized by the beginning of the winter sports in Dauphiné. The ski resort of l'Alpe d'Huez was constructed in 1936, and Jean Pomagalski created there the first platter lift in the world.

Flag of the Free Republic of Vercors proclaimed in 1944
In World War II, during the Italian invasion of France, the Chasseurs Alpins contained the Italian troops, preventing an invasion of the region. But the German victories in northern France quickly threatened the troops in Dauphiné. The Nazis were stopped near Grenoble, at Voreppe. The French forces resisted until the armistice. The Dauphiné was then part of the French State, before being occupied by the Italians from 1942 to 1943, when the Germans occupied southern France.

Due to its mountainous character, Dauphiné was the seat of strong partisan activity. The best known was the Maquis du Vercors. In 1944, its members suffered from German attacks. The martyr village of Vassieux as well as Grenoble were made Compagnon de la Libération by General Charles de Gaulle, to underline their actions against the Nazis.

In 1968, Grenoble welcomed the Xth Olympic Winter Games, allowing a major transformation of the city, the development of infrastructure (airport, motorways, etc.) and new ski resorts (Chamrousse, Les Deux Alpes, Villard-de-Lans, etc.).

Traditional canes of the administrators of vineyards in Aude and Hérault. Figure LEBORGNE 1922/1925 under the name: Masse d'armes of the Hérault.