Olan (mountain)
The Olan (l'Olan in French) (3564 m) is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins in the French Alps. It dominates the valleys of Valgaudemar, Valjouffrey, and Vénéon in the heart of Écrins National Park. The mountain has two or three summits: the Epaulé Sud (3,514 m), which can be considered a shoulder, the Sommet Centrale (3,558 m) and the Sommet Nord (3,564 m). Before the ascents it was unclear which of the main summits was the higher one. Climbing The first successful ascent of the mountain was made on July 8, 1875, by Gabriel ("Gaber") and Josef Spechtenhauser, from Schnals in Tyrol, guiding the British gentlemen Richard Pendlebury and Arthur Cust. Cust had to give up below the summit, but the Spechtenhausers brought Pendlebury to the central peak, since sometimes called Cime Pendlebury, where they had to turn around swiftly because of a lightning storm, which made the descent very adventurous. The following summer Christian and Ulrich Almer and W.A.B. Coolidge got stuck where Cust had turned around in 1875, but on 29 Jun 1877 the same party repeated the ascent of the central summit and proceeded in 55 minutes through the gap to the north summit (hence Cime