Xavier and I meet our guide, Martin, downtown St-Gervais. It is still pitch dark. We drop by the rental shop and hire heavy winter mountaineering boots (Scarpa Mont Blanc Pro Gtx), harnesses, crampons, ice axes, poles and helmets. We throw our bags in Martin’s Mitsubishi pick-up truck and we are off. We cross the Mont […]

The short version: 7:47 of climbing to reach the summit on our 3rd attempt this week. Great team work and excellent gear to make it through the icy parts towards the summit. The long version: we wake up at 345am, finish prepping our gear most of the backpacks have been prepared last night. We start […]

Nice day today, 5am wake up, 7am we are off on the trail after I forgot my poles at home and Pat and Xav went to pick them up while I kept the gear. Weather is overcast but a few rays of sun appear here and there. Amazing view as we gain in altitude. Quickly […]

Yesterday we had a long evening preparing the gear, planning the climb. The goal was to get close to the summit, camp one night, ski down the crater and back up and down tomorrow. Time on the mountain: 5:47 Ascent: 363m -> 1134 -> 363 Weather: overcast, cold -5 (with windchill prob -15) Mount Yotei […]

All packed, safety gear, food. 921am, Ready to go.

Xavier goes for an off-piste course while Patrick and I use the day to train, check the gear, check the snow conditions on Mount Yotei. We buy crampons for the split-snowboards, apparently it was icy on top of Mount Yotei a few days ago and without crampons we might not be able to finish the […]

A short stay in the Alps discovering Ski touring

Such a long and difficult expedition can hardly be done alone. It requires a group of people, close & reliable friends, supported by many others, loved ones, friends and family and a support team, the guides. Success resides in the work of a group and the unconditional support of one another. A few people have […]

Attempting Denali is a long, arduous expedition in extreme temperatures that can easily plummet to -40C in May or even later in the season at high altitude. The weather in unpredictable, and therefore, it requires the right gear to face what nature throws at us. The every day life ‘luxuries’ or what we are made […]

People often ask: Why do you do this, How about the risks, How about the people you love, For what purpose? For me, it is simple, clear and transparent, but for many people it is not, so let me try a simple reply. In its most basic way, in its essence, mountaineering is like any […]