I enjoyed very much this journey in Chamonix, the capital of the alpinism.
First of all some words about the fauna: Daniel is a photographer and enjoys observing the chamois and marmots in the mountains: sometimes he meets the naturalist Julie Chaboud (Service des Espaces Nturels) and they share informations about the fauna: they notice that tourists are using drones and frighten animals. We meet also Etienne Marlé who is in charge of the center of breeding of bearded vulture, a bird which has be reintroduced in the Mont-Blanc area.
Sandie Cochepain who practice paragliding is also observing the life of the chamois.
Chamonix has been founded in the Middle Ages (a monastery): some fires destroyed the wooden houses and then the buildings were made with stones : various architectural styles like art nouveau, art déco. Emma Wibault explains that n:ow the new trend is to build chalets with armed concrete outside and the innern place with wood.
We meet Jean-François, a retired CEO who lives now in Chamonix in his chalet and walks in the mountains with his friend the mountain guide Vincent Ravanel: at the end of the day they go to the restaurant du terroir managed by Stéphane Gasset.
André Manoukian , a compositor and musician is also very happy in these mountains.
Chamonix is also famous because of the "Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne" : the gendarmes received an intensive training in these mountains and then can operrate in the mountains rescues: the commander Stéphane Bozon pays a visit to André Arbez, who was one of the first gendarme officer of this rescue unit.
WE meet also Hiroshi Tsuda, a Japanese alpinist who came to Chamonix for training and who has stayed in Chamonix and became official mountain guide: Hisashi Sekino was the first Japanese guide to settle in Chamony and is the president of the Japoniards.
Finally we see the highliners walking on rope in the high mountains and the Ulktra Trail du Mont-Blanc : Jean Bernet is one of the 10.500 runners of this trail (about 180 kilometers) and will run through the ultra trail in 25 hours.
I enjoyed the encounters of Tiga with Didier Simong, (Mer de Glace), with Jérémy Brunet (Montenvers), with Philippe Convers and Florence Kielholz, with Fleur Fouque (alpinism), with Gérard Berrux (the Pain de Chibon), with Samien Simond (the son of Didier in the knife workshop), with Pascal Brun (the helicopter pilot ) and with Antoine and Valérie Rattin at the mountain cabin of the Goûter: very nice encounters with very kind French men and women.