Portrait - Christophe Dumarest
CHRISTOPHE DUMAREST
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
CD: I used to say that I was born in a backpack. My parents and especially my father were experienced mountain bikers. Even if I would sometimes have preferred to spend my weekends in Walibi, I was always in the mountains. I started ski mountaineering when I was 6 years old and before I was 10 I already had a nice list of races, including a summit of more than 4000m.
Today I divide my time between my job as a guide, writer and technical advisor for various brands.
When and how did you learn paraglider ?
CD: I made my first paraglider and delta flights with my father when I was very young. He was one of the few to fly at the Col de la Forclaz in the 80s. It wasn't until quite late that I took the plunge and got serious about it, although I had sworn I wouldn't give in before the age of 60 (the right age to have time and take the risk of hurting yourself, even if there is no age!!). I didn't learn to fly in the most academic way. In fact, it was friends and pilots exceptional people who taught me. I learned in the fields surrounding my village of Dingy Saint Clair. With them, I was able to benefit from an accelerated Training , but the apprenticeship will never be over. I owe what little I know to them.
What is your practice at paraglider ?
CD: My flying is directly tied to the mountains. I use my paraglider even more paraglider descending than for ascending. Nevertheless, the possibilities for cross-country flights, long-distance journeys, and other bivouac flights that paraglider offers seem endless paraglider , especially with the development of new equipment that is increasingly safer and more efficient. The experience of flight is also addictive, and I’m wary of myself and my approach to taking risks—“great daring often leads to short careers,” as Livanos said.
Do you have a special memory of flight to share with us?
CD: My two flights from the summit of the Aiguille du Midi, both taking off from the north side, remain unforgettable. The first was in 2010, a tandem flight with Philippe Barnier, conducted at night following an exceptional trek through the Mont Blanc massif (six consecutive days following in the footsteps of Walter Bonatti), with a Landing car headlights! The second was a solo flight, and flying over the Aiguilles de Chamonix in winter felt completely surreal to me. Alone in a sky and an environment worthy of Samivel.
I have more mixed memories of a takeoff aided by the “foehn” effect from the summit of Mont Blanc.
What are your upcoming projects (paraglider and outside paraglider) ?
CD: The experience of the last events related to the confinement confirms me in the idea that the adventures must be lived in an even more local way. That we should be looking for new ways of looking at things rather than for new destinations in the distance. That by revisiting an IGN map and being creative, we can still experience beautiful things while going perhaps much less far. I dream of mixing a logical alpine sequence with the help of paraglider.
Contact :
www.christophedumarest.com
