The Russell Caves are a group of seven rock-cut caves that Count Henry Russell, a renowned Pyrenean mountaineer, had dug into the Vignemale massif in the French department of Hautes-Pyrénées, to serve as a shelter and holiday resort. Exploring the Pyrenees since 1858, Count Russell spent many nights on the peaks he climbed. In the early 1880s, he decided to settle on a mountain and build a natural shelter for long stays at high altitudes during the summer. He chose the Vignemale, the highest peak in the French Pyrenees. In 1881, a contractor from Gèdre drilled his first cave near the Cerbillona pass, the "Villa Russell", at an altitude of 3,205 meters. Six other caves were created up to 1893, at altitudes varying between 2,400 and 3,280 meters: the "Grotte des Guides", the "Grotte des Dames", the three "Bellevue caves" and the "Grotte Paradis". In his caves, Henry Russell hosted meals and welcomed numerous guests, all of whom praised the quality of his hospitality. By the end of the 19th century, the caves had become a must for Pyrenean visitors to the region, who left a testimonial in the visitors' book at the top of the Pique Longue. At the beginning of the 21st century, the retreat of the Ossoue glacier rendered some of these caves inaccessible.
Henry Russell, the Pyrenees and Vignemale
After climbing several Pyrenean peaks in the summer of 1858, Henry Russell turned his attention to exploring the range from 1861 onwards, becoming one of the leading figures in Pyrenean climbing. That same year, on September 14, he climbed the Vignemale, the highest peak in the French Pyrenees, for the first time. From then on, he had a special relationship with this peak, making what is considered Europe's first major winter ascent on February 11, 1869, with guides Hippolyte and Henri Passet. He spent many nights on the summits, often uncomfortable and sometimes perilous, but which could also provide him with sublime moments, such as on August 26, 1880, at the summit of Vignemale. Buried inside his lambskin rucksack, in a small ditch covered with stones, Henry Russell fell asleep only briefly due to the negative temperature, but he experienced one of the most beautiful moments of his life, amazed by the spectacle of the starry night as well as that of the sunrise. This experience made him want to spend long periods at high altitude, and he realized that his age was making it difficult for him to keep up the mountain runs with a minimum of sleep and food. So he decided to settle on the Vignemale.
The seven caves
The Russell villa (1881–1882)
According to Henry Russell, "there is nothing uglier, more hideous and more repulsive than a house, in the midst of the eternal and sublime chaos of the mountains". While he advocated living at high altitudes, he did not accept construction, which he felt disfigured the mountain's wild appearance. Digging an artificial cave in the rock seemed the only option. He aimed to create a warm, dry shelter, without the need for a fire. In 1881, Henry Russell contacted Gèdre-based contractor Étienne Theil, who had built a shelter for him near Mont Perdu five years earlier. He planned to cut a cave at an altitude of 3,205 meters on the flanks of the Cerbillona, near the Col de Cerbillona, at the top of the Ossoue glacier. Once the contract had been signed, Theil and his workers began work in August, but progress was slow due to the hardness of the rock: after a few days, only a hole of around one cubic meter had been dug. Work was halted in early September after a violent snowstorm had ransacked the workers' camp. The following year, one of the workers, Justin Pontet, put forward the idea of setting up a forge near the site, to maintain the tools, which were rapidly becoming blunt. Work was completed on July 31, 1882, and the grotto was delivered to Count Russell the following day. With a capacity of 16 cubic meters, enclosed by a wall and a sheet metal door painted with minium, the grotto measures 3.1 meters long, 2.55 meters wide, and over 2 meters high. The cost of the work was 2,000 francs, including a 100-franc bonus for the workers. As soon as they received the cave, which was named "Villa Russell", its owner decided to spend three days there in the company of a young English mountaineer, Francis-Edward-Lister Swan, and three guides and porters, Henri Passet, Mathieu Haurine, and Pierre Pujo. On August 4, Jean Bazillac and Henri Brulle, completing a Pyrenean excursion to the Vignemale that had begun a few weeks earlier, made their way to Villa Russell, narrowly missing the Count and his guests, who had left the day before. The following year, Henry Russell made several visits to his cave. The door, probably swept away by the winter weather, was finally found and reattached. Every evening, the Count climbed the Pique Longue to admire the sunset, in an unchanging ritual. In 1884, Henry Russell continued to refurbish his grotto. He installed the 35 kg stove given to him by Henri Vergez-Bellou, proprietor of the Hotel des Voyageurs in Gavarnie. For ten days in early August, more than 80 guests enjoyed the Count's hospitality, bringing him gifts of tea, Bordeaux wine, Madeira, and Port. On August 11, the "Villa Russell", transformed into a chapel for the event, was blessed by priests from Lourdes, Héas, and Saint-Savin, a consecration reported in regional newspapers.
Grotte des Guides (1885) and Grotte des Dames (1886)
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