It’s up to us to solve the problem of altitude sickness, which can have tragic consequences. Recently, at the Vallot Observatory near Mont Blanc, three tonnes of material and equipment were parachuted in by helicopter. This was a delicate operation, where the slightest gust of wind was unforgiving, and difficult for the men, who had … Continued
One day, an Indian discovered a mountain of solid silver: Potosi. Lightning and thunder warned him that this wealth would not benefit him or his people, but a stranger who would come later. That stranger was the Spaniard, and since the conquest, the Indians, starving and miserable, have plundered, turned over and excavated this mountain … Continued
Gran Paradiso is the name of this lost world in the Italian Alps, where plants, animals and threatened silences have found refuge. A world where waterfalls continue to roar for their own pleasure, that of the sun or the abyss. Forests know no axe, flowers no gathering and animals no longer fear the hunter. The … Continued
First ski descent of the North Face of Mont Blanc. Lionel Terray and a few friends set off to climb Mont Blanc. A climb like any other if it wasn’t for the subsequent descent on skis. A classic route marked out by the Grands-Mulets and Vallot refuges. At 4,300m, part of the team descended before … Continued
In a ski resort in the Alps (L’Alpe d’Huez), children from different countries have come together for a winter holiday in the snow, and despite their language differences, they understand each other perfectly. They build snow castles and have snowball fights, but immediately make up and help each other. Thanks to this understanding, they all … Continued
The spellbinding power of the sounds and rhythms that have for centuries marked a still time of birth and death, the ringing of bells and the activity of bell-ringing continue in the Haut-Pays Niçois, strongly linked to a whole range of musical practices. In these valleys where men have had to leave to earn their … Continued
The real protagonist of this film is a pair of skis which, before being burnt in the fireplace of a chalet, recalls his life from the forest of his childhood to the moment of his death in the mountains following the fall of a beautiful woman. The film was made in three major winter sports … Continued
Film in colour, screener in B/W It was at the end of the southern Belledonne mountain range, at an altitude of 1,650 m, that the Recoin resort of Chamrousse began to be developed in 1948. Given the success of Le Recoin and the constant increase in the number of visitors, the Département de l’Isère decided … Continued
Two young men, budding mountaineers, without listening to their parents’ advice to be careful, or that of an instructor on the train taking them to Chamonix, set off to climb in the Alps. Although they didn’t have a lot of experience, they were confident enough for their age, and as soon as they arrived they … Continued
In summer, the Mont-Blanc Massif sees the stealthy silhouettes of crystal-makers in search of a kind of Grail: rock crystal. There are less than a dozen of them in the Chamonix region, unearthing these translucent stones that lie dormant at the heart of the steepest rock faces, in cracks and cavities that crystal-cutters call “ovens”. … Continued