A passion for extreme skiing

Trying to create new ski tracks on the mountains around Chamonix has occupied most of my time since 2010. Whether it's for finding new lines or repeating classics, observation is the key to success. It starts in the summer, when the mountain is not covered in its snow blanket, and continues into the autumn with the first disturbances. Then, it will be necessary to be on site as often as possible during the winter to understand the conditions and choose the buy alpine skis or buy ski equipment online that is best suited.



My goal this year remains the same, but with the addition of paragliding. The search will be even more meticulous as it will now be necessary to find areas to take off and land before achieving the skiing objective. Moreover, to tackle technical and steep terrains, it is essential to choose a ski airbag backpack and buy a reliable inclinometer to accurately assess the slope.

WHO IS YANNICK BOISSENOT?


My name is Yannick Boissenot, I am 38 years old and my passion is skiing. My last 12 years have been shared between projects in the Mont Blanc Massif and expeditions around the world thanks to my job as a cameraman (Peru, Pakistan, India, Japan, Alaska…). I have always had a fascination for extreme skiing (steep and exposed slopes), which requires buying mountaineering shoes and using a choosing a suitable mountaineering ice axe.

I am now a father of 2 children and it is natural for me to reduce my commitment to my mountain projects. Combining paragliding and skiing is a new challenge that brings me as much satisfaction and pleasure as extreme skiing.

I have been paragliding for only 2 years, so I still have a lot to learn and it is undoubtedly the most challenging part of the project! Loic Chamel is a young Chamonix local who grew up surrounded by these mountains since childhood. We have shared some beautiful descents together and it is with him that I have made my most beautiful paragliding flights (Aiguille du Midi at 3800m for my 15th flight, Mont Blanc for my 30th flight…). He was the perfect partner for this project. To succeed in extreme conditions, it is essential to equip oneself with quality mountaineering gear.

salewa sella


A steep slope paragliding-skiing combo


The idea is to take off from the Aiguille du Midi, land at the foot of the face that we will ascend on foot to then ski it, and ideally take off again to finish the day landing at home. This will also help avoid long descents on foot and save our knees…
As a trial run, we will start with a flight towards the Périades area, 40km/h of west wind will prevent us from taking off at 3600m. We have therefore found a fallback spot at 3400m which allowed us to cross the Vallée Blanche and land a few hundred meters below the start of our run. A virgin corridor of good snow will be enough to fill our day for this first test. After a long wait, we are trying to find the weather window that would allow us to gather good conditions to take off from the Aiguille du Midi and ski the north face of the Dôme du Goûter at 4304m. For any similar adventure, it is important to have cheap but reliable mountaineering gear.

A dry winter like I have never seen since I have lived here, and complicated wind conditions for my level in paragliding will not allow us to achieve this much-desired combo. As a cameraman specialized in skiing, I am also on the other side of the lens, so I know that it is one of the most difficult disciplines to film due to the weather conditions and the snow cover. Add the wind factor, and it becomes a Chinese puzzle for the realization of this type of project.

The mountains will still be there next year (I hope at least…) so I prefer to prioritize safety in this kind of project where the skies still hold a great deal of unknown for me. Climate change is unfortunately increasingly affecting our playground, and the option of paragliding to access or escape from skiing areas will become more and more useful, if not essential in the long term. Even if there are no shortage of projects, we will still need to be patient to realize them when all conditions are met.


SALEWA


contact us alpinstore