Although Loppé first encountered the world of glaciers in 1846 via Switzerland’s Grimsel Pass, when he was 21, it was in Chamonix where he began to conquer the high peaks.
In 1853 he and his wife stayed at the Hôtel de la Couronne and ascended the
Grands Mulets during the day on July 19. They were accompanied by the Payot guides,
François Romain and François Florentin.
The first hut at the Grands Mulets (3050 metres) was built in 1853 on rocks above where the Bossons and Taconnaz glaciers meet. It was a log cabin with dry stone walls measuring 4.25m x 2.12 m.
On July 23rd 1861, he made his first ascent of mont Blanc, accompanying the Bisson brothers, then the official photographers to the Emperor Napoleon III.
Returning to the Grands Mulets Hut, which would over time become a sort of second home for him, Loppé met another party of climbers on their way up mont Blanc and joined in, returning there on that same summer of 1861 on 25th July, and again on 13th August.
A drawing dated 24 July 1861 attests to this stay at the Grands Mulets Hut.
In 1871 he made the first ascent of Mount Mallet (3,989m) with Leslie Stephen and Frederich Wallroth.
In 1876, on January 19, he attempted the first winter ascent of mont Blanc with
James Eccles, but on was beaten to it on January 30th by the American Isabella Straton.
On March 3rd that year Loppé and Eccles completed the feat.
Loppé made a number of first ascents and was an accredited and recognized climber even if he preferred to boast of the talents and courage of his guides.
In 1864 the Alpine Club of London gave him the rare accolade of admitting him as an honorary member.
In 1865, he became a member of the Swiss Alpine Club, Geneva section for Monta Rosa.
From 1875, when the French Alpine Club was created, he joined the Paris section.
In 1865, Loppé met the prefect (le Préfet) for the Haute-Savoie to explain and lobby him as to how the rules of the Chamonix guides Company (‘La Compagnie des Guides’) had to change and move with the times.
In 1870, during the terrible accident of 15th September on mont Blanc which killed 11 people, Loppé got involved by getting any information to the bereaved families in Chamonix and helping establish an emergency fund (Caisse de Secours’). Ever active, he campaigned to improve the condition of the guides and corresponded with the Alpine Club in London on the matter. He never hesitated to go and rescue mountaineers in difficulty or the victims of an accident and often instigated subscriptions to help families affected by these tragedies.
Nevertheless, his exploits in the Alps were not his principal motivation, it was much more his painting, since he never set off into the mountains without his palette and brushes, always ready to catch a sunrise or sunset, or a cloud phenomena. He would sometimes wait for several hours to get the perfect light, without ever seemingly bothered by the cold much to the great displeasure of the guides and porters who accompanied him. He could spend days in very high mountain spots such as a week at the Col du Géant or at the Grands Mulets, or a bivouac on the Montagne de la Côte, between the glaciers of Bossons and Taconnaz.