Tony Lamiche
Tony Lamiche, profession : free spirit
Over in Chamonix, everyone knows Tony Lamiche, one of the best climbers in the world, a steep skier, an adventurer of hostile areas and a high mountain guide. In Argentière-La Bessée, there is also the entrance to the Ecrins National Park, where it is said that the climbing culture was born, and where, for Tony, it all began. “I started off playing football, but I didn't get a feel for it, I wanted to be in nature. I climbed everything that I could.”
As a member of one of the first climbing clubs in the Hautes-Alpes, Tony started competing in bouldering. The France team, the World Cup: he may have enjoyed competing to the fullest and travelled the world for 10 years, but going faster than his mate is not really his thing. He then became a high mountain guide, took his ski instructor's diploma and took part in a series of ice climbing competitions, notably at the Ice Climbing benchmark event organised each year in his village. “Even though I didn't know what I was doing at first, I did it anyway. But my dream was to do steep, mountain skiing.” At 30 years old, Tony is making his childhood dream come true: skiing in the places that he manages to climb. The transition from climber to skier came naturally thanks to his determination, despite not having the means to go to ski resorts at the time, and the support of partners with whom he developed the first technical ice axes to climb steep terrain. "I've always had a passion for DIY and developing equipment. Ice axes didn't exist. It was the same for clothing, I didn't really have anything suitable. No ski boots or bindings. In the space of 15 years, I've looked at the problem from all angles.”
"I'm a climber and will be a climber for the rest of my life, but for me skiing is a never-ending ride."
Today, Tony focuses on skiing, but he says, loud and clear like a chanted slogan echoing at 1000m altitude: “I am a climber and I will be a climber for the rest of my life. Climbing has taught me to be present in the moment, but for me skiing is a never-ending ride. There will always be new snow, new conditions, new people. I can ski in the same place every day without getting bored!”
From November to April, sometimes extending into June, the seasons are long in the high mountains, plenty of time to get your skis on and off and wear several hats. “I define myself more as a free spirit. Most of my time is spent skiing, and outside of that, I'm passing on my knowledge of the past 25 years.” With a wealth of experience and expertise, Tony has chosen to share his knowledge by teaching at the high school where he studied. At the same time, through his "Michela Guide", a quirky interactive web series presented by an avatar in a beret, Tony shares good practices and safety advice with the hope of increasing the awareness of mountain goers. “We practise a sport which has serious consequences, it's important to instil humility in the face of nature and to know how to behave to avoid problems.”
The educational aspect is more than ever central to his approach. Tony owes this new ambition to becoming a father. “Until I was 40, I didn't ask myself these questions, but it was having children that changed me. They are new beings, without knowledge, without education, without beliefs. They will be shaped by all that you offer them as parents.” As a privileged witness of his environment, Tony Lamiche claims to have no goal other than to do things for fun, with the least possible impact, and always to share, just like the sessions spent with the legend Patrick Edlinger. “Because at the end of the day, our encounters are what remain."
