Then Ama Dablam also refused him her summit. In Nepal, Manaslu allowed him to ascend her flanks till 7400m (24,278ft) but no more. At the end of 2013 we repeated two very aesthetic lines in Arolla on the North Face of the Serre de Vuibe (3100m / Valais). We’d achieved the most mad projects, and nothing seemed impossible to us. For two winters we’ve been sharing adventures, always with a smile and the desire to discover new places. Since his most tender childhood he explored the Swiss mountains on ski, by paraglider and by climbing with his papa. Gilles is the archetype of the montagnard with a great heart. My friend and descent partner, Gilles Bornet, also returned from Nepal. After Gilles’ death, I took more to skiing alone. Gilles Bornet on the first descent of the West Face of the Grand Muveran, Switzerland. As the months pass, little by little snow whitens the landscape, until the month of December sounds the beginning of all projects, of great excitement and of all the madness. I’m intimidated by the cameras and the show of EOFT, but it’s good to know that my friends recognize my passion. Sound of the Void was screened all over Europe thereafter. In April, a crew came to film me during the first descent of the north face of the Gspaltenhorn (3400m in the Swiss canton of Bern). With my return to the old continent I found myself caught by the success of the European Outdoor Film Tour. Of this voyage I retained memories of strong encounters, breathtaking landscapes, and an ideal finally fulfilled of a solo at high altitude. The expedition became an adventure, a project which started as a team and turned into a solo integral. I started the season in the Himalaya, with the project of a ski descent of Pumori, 7100m (23,293ft), in Nepal. With my return to the Hospice some 500m (1,640ft) below I will be Jesus Superstar, and yes this evening it’s Christmas.īut the ski season of 2013-2014 shook my heart. The end of the line is splendid, perched on a turn with a small jump to finish the matter. I listen to each sound from each fall of snow, my concentration is intense and I’m always looking for the proximity of rocks and lines of escape, if the worst is to happen. But exposure to all the winds renders the operation delicate, if we don’t want an avalanche falling down on our heads. The descent of the north face of the Hubschhorn is no longer than 600m (1,968ft), with two steep narrows. Observing my perseverance, the community of the Hospice at Simplon has developed a compassion for my mad thirst for the conquest of the useless. The Hubschhorn is the mountain that dominates above the col of Simplon, in the extreme east of Valais, near the Italian border. Just a few weeks ago, December 24th, after three attempts (one stopped by more than 80kph wind, the other by a huge windblown avalanche that blocked access to the north face), I succeeded finally at the first descent of the north face of the Hubschhorn (3170m). From my village of Glion, I travel in search of snow to the south of Switzerland. Yet the pastures are green with an oppressive gentleness, it rains till 3000m (9,842ft) and the little snow that falls is blown away by strong wind.
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