Medias

Eric Bonnem, founder of Expeditions Unlimited, talks about the rare challenge of the Seven Volcanic Summits, the characteristics of each of the expeditions and those that are no longer accessible. It's a unique conference in a world where Expeditions Unlimited is the only French-speaking organisation present.

We've climbed them all... thanks to you! In our interview with Eric Bonnem, founder of Secret Planet, we take a look back at the legendary Seven Summits challenge: the characteristics of the expeditions that made it up, those that are no longer accessible and its extension to the poles.

Journalist, writer and mountaineer, Jean-Michel is a man of the mountains and of the pen. He has made five attempts to climb Everest, including his first in 1989. In this interview, he recalls the history of mountaineering on the world's highest peak.

Pascal Zellner has been an emergency physician since 1994. In 2005, he and Emmanuel Cauchy founded Ifremmont, the mountain medicine research institute based in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. With their teams, they revolutionized telemedicine for patients in isolated environments. At the time, there was only one solution: a large suitcase from the European Space Agency... They are developing research, prevention and treatments linked in particular to high-mountain pathologies, whether hypoxia (rarefied oxygen) or cold.

On October 12 1967, to encourage and reward the best in the race to the top, the Bureau of the Central Council of Sports Societies and Organizations of the USSR decided to award a prize to those who managed to climb the five highest Soviet peaks. The Snow Leopard challenge was born.

Serge Bazin has climbed several Big Walls, including El Capitan eight times, but it's the Himalayas, and Nepal in particular, that have been his passion for the last 30 years. Treks, traverses, ascents to 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000 metres... His experience makes him one of the most experienced French guides at high altitude. Serge looks back at his career, the key factors in a successful expedition to 8,000 metres, oxygen, and the characteristics of four peaks he knows well.

In September 2021, we will be climbing Manaslu in Nepal, the eighth highest peak on the planet at 8,163 meters. Let's take a look back at this experience, rich in both preparation and execution. An interview hosted by Eric Bonnem, founder of Secret Planet and also a participant in the expedition, and David Ducoin, head of the Himalaya zone at Secret Planet. We dedicate this episode to Pascal Pompei.

In this episode, we take a look back at the epic story of the conquest of Makalu, the fifth highest peak on the planet at 8,485 meters, right up to its victorious ascent by French mountaineers on 15 May 1955. This was the first and only expedition since the dawn of Himalayan climbing to see all its participants reach the summit. It was a masterstroke due as much to meticulous preparation and acclimatisation as to the success of the 1954 reconnaissance, and to exceptional luck with the weather. Here's a look back at this perfect adventure.

In this episode, we take a look back at the epic story of the conquest of Manaslu, the eighth highest peak on the planet at 8,163 metres, right up to its victorious ascent by the Japanese on 15 May 1956. 9 May 1956, 12.30 pm: the Nepalese sirdar Gyalzen Norbu (37) and the Japanese himalayist Toshio Imanishi (41) stand on the narrow rocky summit pyramid of Manaslu (8,156 meters). For the first time, the summit of Manaslu has been climbed by man.