The 7 Summits Company project
A sustainable adventure across the Alps by a team of “SEA BIRDS”.
When one lives permanently by the sea, specifically in Normandy, claiming to run up peaks, and to venture to high altitudes are simply puzzling statements coming from a sailor; at the minimum they surprise or are taken as jokes.
But when oceans and mountains are closely examined they show many similarities. They have in common the wide opened spaces, the same strong requirement for commitment and present similar risk levels. Sometimes we may explore them with emotion, but always with respect and humility. Confronted by mysterious, authentic, mesmerizing Nature, our minds go wandering over the peaks and on legendary routes that have marked the imagination of several generations by their shape or by their history.
But what could be more exciting than crossing the largest European natural area, the birthplace of mountaineering, the last home of some unique wildlife and also a tradition-rich territory, always marked by cultural exchanges.
A unique journey through the gigantic massifs which shape the heart of Europe and form a bristling sea of peaks. A journey where reaching the summits becomes as much the goal as a pretext to explore our surroundings, to meet other people. Let’s agree to be transported, to take our time, to adopt a responsible approach that makes more and more sense as each step brings us closer to the goal.
The “7 Summits Company” project is a bit of all of that at once, it mixes a physical challenge, a sustainable approach and a human adventure.
We are 3 fellow travelers, adventurer apprentices, sports enthusiasts! The thirst for emotions, for new encounters, for self-fulfillment, a shared consciousness of the innumerable links which exist between ecological, ethical values and our behavior. All of that brings us together.
We have decided to link the highest peak of the 7 alpine countries in 21 days. This represents nearly 1400 km of travel with 50000m of ascent. We will do it by cycling, walking or climbing, carrying all our gear and without any motorized assistance. We will leave from the Triglav in Slovenia (target date is May,13th), then we will go to the Grossglockner in Austria, the Zugspitze in Germany, the Vorder Grauspitz in Liechtenstein, the Dufour peak in Switzerland, the Grand Paradisio in Italy and finally, we will conclude our adventure by climbing Mont Blanc.
A great crossing of the Alps where we will also meet its men and women, the ambassadors. We hope that they will share with us through their culture and their knowledge of the massifs, their passion for the mountains. As witnesses and key players, each of them will offer a different view of the mountain and its ecosystem. They will also present us with local and national initiatives aimed at maintaining the natural balance of the ecosystem while proposing “Changing Approaches” to the mountain.
Through these exchanges either during the project presentation in schools, or through the media and on social networks, by the stories and images that we will bring back from our expedition, we want to modestly raise questions and bring insights to the many ways each of us travels and lives.
The mountain, as a lengthy prepared quest, a patient effort to trace the source of its act, a “change of approach” that gives a meaning to everything around us, sharing … You’ll find it all in the project “7 Summits Company “.
Do you want to come along with us?
MW will provide reports on the team progress either here or in the MWI Facebook page)
(By the 7 Summit team and BM, DW)