So, how did you and Ms. Gerardi get together?
It was February 2019 or March 2019, and we did a 1,000-meter vertical skiing race. Hillary won and I finished second. As we waited for the awards ceremony, Ben, my partner, heard Hillary talk about setting a record on Chamonix-Zermatt. Ben knew that I had this idea but that I doubted my abilities, so he told me: “That’s exactly the person you need to make a great team.” Hillary is about 10 years younger than me, and I think that age difference means she doesn’t doubt her abilities the way I do. I now see women half my age who believe that women can do great things and set their own records. There’s a cultural difference too — Americans have a very positive character, always saying, “That’s amazing! Good job!” While we French are more like: “OK, you could have done that better.” Hillary is a trail runner, so she has great endurance. She’s also very versatile in the mountains, very positive and very determined. Once I get into it, I’m determined, too, but I hesitate to start. So I don’t know if I would have ever set this record if I hadn’t met her.
You set the women’s record on the route in April 2021. How was the day?
We left the church in Chamonix at 2.30 p.m. to arrive at Zermatt at 4.21 p.m. on the next day, Easter Sunday. There wasn’t a big crowd waiting, just a few family and friends. The snow conditions had deteriorated a bit over the previous week, so we were a little doubtful that we would make it, which is why we hadn’t alerted too many people. No one was interested in the two exhausted women who had been crying out and were throwing themselves into the arms a few people who were still waiting when they arrived in Zermatt.
How did it feel to make it to Zermatt, you ask?
It was a volcano of emotions. I was exhausted and relieved to be done. I was also moved when I realized that I had done it. I had paid tribute to my husband. I had done the same as him. I had managed to connect Chamonix to Zermatt without any assistance using my skis. There was a sense of personal pride and powerful thoughts about Laurent. I had the impression, shortly after his death, that he was there with me everywhere. It was as if he was watching over my every move. It’s thanks to him that I’m doing this sport.
You live in Chamonix now, but you didn’t grow up in the Alps. What attracted to you to that area of France?
I lived in Paris from the age of 17 until that point. But, I had always wanted to live in mountains. When I was 10, I had a cousin who got married in Chamonix, and while we were there, my father and I took the lift up to the Aiguille du Midi, and I was just amazed and thought, “I would love to live here.” Later, when I was a medical student in Bordeaux, I made a lot of trips to the Pyrenees, and then I did an internship in Chamonix in 2001 and 2002, when I met Laurent. Later, I was qualified to do mountain diplomas. This allowed me to take a position as a guide for the military high mountain group. Living in the mountains has always been something inside me, and the training I’ve had has allowed me to come here and stay.
You have just completed your active military service. Do you want to work as a physician or focus your attention on the mountains?
I’m going to try to do both — continue to work as a doctor, doing shifts in the emergency department and as a reservist for the military, while also pursuing projects in the mountains. It’s important to me to have both these lines of work, which challenge me in different ways. Being in the mountains requires a lot of intellectual ability — calculating risk, preparing your body, all of that. However, being a doctor can be very intellectual. You must really think about a diagnosis and do your research. It’s also fatiguing in its own way. These activities are both important to me.
Are there any other women trying to break your Haute Route record?
So far, I haven’t heard anyone say that they were interested, but we would be so happy if other women came to us. Because it’s not just about keeping the record to ourselves for as long as possible. It’s about inspiring others and helping them achieve it — that’s what I didn’t have.
Source: NY Times