Lists are one of the most widespread contemporary habits, maintained by the productivity apps that are very much in the air today. Mountaineering is no exception, and this is not new: the 82 “4000”, and of course, the fourteen “8000” climbed for the first time by Reinhold Messner – or the list of the probationary exam to become an aspiring guide. At the beginning of...

For many, he is an icon with blond or green hair, depending on the mood, an icy mint look and a smile whose scratched incisor reveals his temperament. “In the powder we are all world champions. There’s no one left as soon as it’s steep and a bit frozen, there’s no one left who makes a turn.” This punchline from Bertrand Delapierre’s film, Marco, étoile filante...

It’s crazy what a little change gives wings. Those of a kite in this case, a red kite.Accustomed to the hands of climbers, the wiggle of skiers and other alpine balancing acts, my camera went out of its autofocus zone (which is to cameras what the “comfort zone” is to humans). What did he have in his viewfinder to be so confused? A faster athlete than the others? A low-light...

After a few weeks in the mountains, disconnected from the networks and other notifications, I returned to the virtual planet. There, depressing alerts and pictures are blooming: melting glaciers, dried lakes, rock slides and ice falls accelerated, overfrequentation on touristic sites. The disaster scenario is underway. Sad mood at Alpine Mag editorial staff. The big summer ascents have changed...

Looks like the best himalayan climbers have been shrinking. Eberhard Jurgalski and his investigators* have come to the following conclusion: out of about fifty Himalayan climbers, only three have reached the highest point of the fourteen peaks above 8,000 metres with any certainty. The whole history of the 8000 peaks must be rewritten” says Jurgalski who, after years of investigation with...

In the world of “adventure journalism” and mountain journalism in particular, there is a name that imposes itself to all: Jon Krakauer. Remember, it was him who wrote Tragedy on Everest and Into the Wild. Both stories were best-sellers and cinematographic successes. Recently, the french publisher 10-18 published a collection of articles by the journalist (Rêves de montagne in...