Winter 2006. The beauty of the décor was breathtaking. Mountains surrounded me, stone cathedrals covered in a pure white blanket of snow. I could see the hoof-prints left by goats. Is there a more beautiful place in the world? At this second, no…

I wrote these words as I was heading to a solo climb of the Pic du Midi d’Osseau (2,884 m). It was an extraordinary climb, almost mythic with the colours of the sunrise above the Franco-Spanish border.