Kovid 19, contrary to expectations, was the trigger that launched mountaineering and extreme skiing to new horizons. It happened in the Alps because travelling further was not even possible, and because the Alps are not only the Mecca of mountaineering. The roots of extreme skiing are also here.
The development of this hugely prestigious, crazy and risky discipline in recent years owes its rise to guides like Paul Bonhomme, who in 2021 also signed off with 10 premierships, super athletes like Killian Hornet, and his tactic of alpine style achievements with ultralight and technical equipment, the latest cry of technology. At the top of this elite group of tireless skiers is Chamonix's phenomenal guide Vivian Bruchez (33) who, when with Paul, when with other friends, has nearly 100 premier extreme ski routes to his credit.
The development of this hugely prestigious, crazy and risky discipline in recent years owes its rise to guides like Paul Bonhomme, who in 2021 also signed off with 10 premierships, super athletes like Killian Hornet, and his tactic of alpine style achievements with ultralight and technical equipment, the latest cry of technology. At the top of this elite group of tireless skiers is Chamonix's phenomenal guide Vivian Bruchez (33) who, when with Paul, when with other friends, has nearly 100 premier extreme ski routes to his credit.
Born into a family of skiers in Chamonix, Vivian competed in his first ski race at the age of 4. He left competitive skiing at 16, and devoted himself to alpine guiding and extreme skiing. She says to herself“ if I can climb it, I should be able to ski it”. "To share, not to show, that's my understanding. Today I'm putting myself into teaching" says Vivian, whom we were expecting for this 16th edition, but hope to welcome to Bulgaria in the near future anyway. In 2020 and 2021, he is creating a series of training films on how to take off or put on skis in vertical terrain, how to descend such slopes with mixed terrain, including rock barriers.
And if in the 1980s legends like Patrick Valencant and Marco Siffredi rode slopes as steep as 60 degrees and recorded first descents of the Himalayan eight-thousanders, the game today, according to Bruchez, is about choosing a line that suggests fewer rappels. Behind the selection of any line for steep ski descent, as he calls it, are sometimes years of daydreaming, conversations with old guides.
"I've always loved skiing, since day one. I'm a technical skier, and I was always looking for a way to test myself in new conditions, skiing with open, unbuckled boots, at night. I'm always looking to adapt myself to the most difficult snow conditions possible, to perfect my balance. In my latest films, like T’es pas bien là?photographed and created by Sebastien Montaz-Rosset, I show exactly this... Development today comes from borrowing ideas from different disciplines. Steep skiing and dry skiing, where extreme skiing meets mountaineering, how does that sound? More on 29 March with Viviane Bruchet's film, from the 16 Days of Challenges programme.