Our innovations require input from the best mountain professionals.
Frédéric Souchon, high-mountain guide and rescue specialist with the PGHM in Chamonix, chooses CimAlp for his personal kit.
Looking for fresh ideas for your next mountain adventures? Frédéric shares a few
accounts of his Mountaineering and Paragliding outings and share with us
his selection "The CimAlp Essentials" that accompany him on every expedition.
Frédéric recounts his circuit of the "Tour glacier" via the summits
" After flying over the area several times and climbing the summits of the Chardonnet and the Aiguille du Tour, I had the idea of attempting an original route:
to complete a full circuit of the glacier, taking in every summit — and ideally in under 24 hours! While the idea looks appealing on paper, after an initial study of the maps and route descriptions (a glacier surrounded by a ridge line and summits stretching over 18 km), it was clear the challenge would be far from straightforward, with some rarely travelled sections along the way...
1 July 2015: with Jeff Mercier, my teammate and colleague at the PGHM, we finally decided to go for it! The sequence began from the
hamlet of Le Tour at 1,400 m then took us along the standard routes of all
the iconic summits surrounding the Tour glacier namely: Péclerey, the 2 Becs Rouges, the Aiguille du Passon, the Aiguille du Chardonnet, la Grande Fourche, la Petite Fourche, la Tête Blanche, the Aiguille Purtcheller and finally the Aiguille du Tour...
View of the Aiguille du Tour 3,542 m at sunrise from the Col du Passon.
At the summit of the Aiguille du Chardonnet 3,824 m, with the final planned ascent of the day in the background — the Aiguille du Tour, still very far away!
A combination of
20 hours of ridge climbing, route-finding, rock, ice, scrambling and glacier travel.
For this kind of back-to-back summer glacier and rock climbing routes, kit is everything — it needs to be
technical, comfortable, stretchy, waterproof, lightweight and easy to pack in a rucksack.
Here is my selection
"The CimAlp Essentials" for this type of expedition:
– Laos 4 mountain trousers: 3D-Flex Plus fabric, 100% stretch, durable and ultra-comfortable.
– EMANA ultra-comfort compression t-shirt: the new EMANA® fibres have thermoregulating properties that act on blood microcirculation, delivering a sense of wellbeing during exertion. The 3D-Flex® weave provides greater stretch for a compression/support effect (firm muscle hold).
– VINSON waterproof ultra-breathable Ultrashell jacket with Kevlar reinforcements: a must-have!
– VENTURI ultra-fast-drying & anti-odour t-shirt: dries 10 times faster! Ultra-breathable, lightweight, anti-odour and versatile.
– DOWN Primaloft synthetic down gilet: windproof, lightweight and as warm as natural down.
– CROSS 3-layer SoftShell lightweight jacket: this stretch SoftShell fabric jacket is your go-to for outdoor activities. Designed for sport activities such as nordic walking and cross-country skiing, it's also ideal for mountain biking and sports hiking in the mountains.
3D-Flex stretch mesh inserts at the elbows and underarms for maximum freedom of movement. Windproof, waterproof and breathable!
– RAIN waterproof-breathable membrane hiking jacket: keep it at the bottom of your bag for when the rain hits! Ultra-lightweight, waterproof, breathable and packable. Stretchy, it protects you from the elements.
– HIKKING performance hiking socks: high-performance and durable for hiking and mountain walking. They feature a right/left foot ergonomic design, with a heel and toe in CORDURA — 4 times stronger than polyamide — and merino wool to keep odours in check.
– Travel air-compression waterproof bags: save up to 70% of space and protect against water, odours and insects.
Frédéric's flagship project for the season ahead: "Alps Traverse by Fly-Bivvy"
This great Alpine traverse will take us from the shores of Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean. We chose a low-impact approach, respectful of the mountain — on foot or by paraglider exclusively. The defining feature of this project is climbing the 6 highest points of the 6 departments we cross:
– HAUTE-SAVOIE: MONT BLANC 4,810 m
– SAVOIE: GRANDE CASSE 3,855 m
– ISÈRE: PIC LORY 4,088 m
– HAUTES-ALPES: BARRE DES ÉCRINS 4,102 m
– ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE: AIGUILLE DE CHAMBEYRON 3,412 m
– ALPES MARITIMES: CIME DU GELAS 3,143 m
The connections between summits will be made by paraglider wherever possible, or on foot by hiking when flying conditions are unfavourable. This mode of travel will demand
to bring all our flying, walking and bivvy gear with us that we will need. This project will allow us
to combine mountaineering, hiking and paragliding. The mountain will take centre stage on our journey, offering what matters most to us: effort, team spirit, respect and sharing.
Unlike traditional mountaineering, where the summit can be seen as an end in itself, for us the peaks we climb will be the springboards of our odyssey.
Today, adventure is still within reach — just a few steps or a flight from home!
For this traverse, we chose to pack lightweight, compact and high-performance gear — whether airborne or on the ground during our ascents!
The kit we carry on our backs every day — around 20 kg!
Follow all the updates on the traverse on our Facebook page
here !
Have a great summer out there! "
Fred
