Christophe Dumarest

Christophe was ‘born in a backpack’ in Annecy, France. He was skiing by 2 years old and climbing 4000m peaks before he was 10. Mentored in the mountains and the skills of Alpinism by his family, he eventually progressed to regional and national French climbing teams before qualifying as a UIAGM Guide in 2009. He continues to guide extensively now, specialising in the Alps’ Grand Courses and technical routes.

Christophe is well known for his hard and committing ascents around the world. Decades of new routes and hard repeats in the Alps include ‘Heidi’ on the Grandes Jorasses and a near onsight of ‘Divine Providence’ on Mont Blanc. He has climbed countless equally hard lines further afield, everywhere from Alaska to the Andes, Greenland and the Himalaya, including the much sought-after ‘Eternal Flame’ on Trango Tower in the Karakoram and ‘Chercheur d’Absolu’ on Fitz Roy in Patagonia.

Today, with the aim of reducing his environmental impact, he is focusing on what has become his signature: alpine link-ups. These are multi-day journeys, far removed from the constraints of meters and seconds, and instead centered on the logic of the terrain, geological and historical continuity, or simply a poetic reinterpretation of a map or a landscape. Some of these adventures have led to films such as “Le Méridien des Écrins,” “Sur le fil de l’amitié,” “Inside,” and “La Voie Bonatti.”