Julien Désécures

I discovered the mountains and the sea at a very young age, with my family: the Pilatte refuge at age 3, Tête Sud du Replat at age 7, my first climb in the Écrins. It goes way back in my family. My grandmother's father was already heading into the mountains from Grenoble in the 1920s.

While studying engineering in Lyon, I spent all my free time mountaineering, at a fairly committed level. After a (very) brief stint as an engineer, I chose to devote myself exclusively to the mountains, in all their forms. I've been a guide since 2000.

Today, I split my time between the Mont Blanc massif, the Écrins and the surrounding areas. There are the climbs with my clients, in winter and summer, and alongside that, writing guidebooks and providing weather routing for expeditions.

What has drawn me back up there from the very beginning: being so focused on what I'm doing that everything else fades away.

Climbing

Mountaineering

Ski Snowboard

Hiking

Ski touring

My job, day to day?

High-altitude mountain guide—that's how I make a living, and it's all I've done since 2000. I take clients into the mountains in winter and summer, and my first responsibility is to bring them back down.

I've also written seven guidebooks. They're just starting to bring in a little money, considering the work involved, but I'd like to write more.

And I provide weather forecasts for expeditions. The most interesting part isn't the forecast itself, but knowing how much confidence to place in it. For us, “good weather” or “bad weather” doesn't mean much; it's subjective. The real question is: given what's coming tomorrow, what can we do?

How did I end up here?

When I was little, guides didn’t really inspire me. I didn’t always understand what they were saying, and we have to admit we were doing all sorts of crazy things: when they saw us coming, it was a bit of survival of the fittest.

I trained for my guide qualification while finishing my engineering studies. In 1998, a serious accident during my national service forced me to put my training on hold. I then worked for a year and a half as a computer engineer, despite never having done it before.

Four months in Paris, in the middle of winter. I took the subway at night, typed on a keyboard all day under a gray sky, and came back out at night. I felt like I was living in Blade Runner, trapped in a tube. In the mountains in winter, there’s often a temperature inversion: the clouds stay in the valley, while above them, the sun is shining.

As soon as I could, I finished my training. I started working as a guide in 2000, when I was 27.

There are five of us siblings. We all had the same access to the mountains, and I’m the only one who lives there. I can’t really explain it. I just know we’re incredibly lucky to be able to do this.

What is a ptarmigan to me?

It's the animal that lives in the mountains in winter. I still come across them on snow-covered rock faces where almost no one goes. L'winter, they dig small holes in the snow to shelter in.

So, Lagoped in one word, for me, is this: a very beautiful bird that comes from the mountains.

Why Lagoped Family?

I’m a co-founder of Lagoped with Christophe and Pierre, and this adventure means a lot to me. Pierre and I already knew each other. When the project started taking shape, he told Christophe he should meet me. We had lunch together on a sunny terrace in Sallanches, and that’s how it all began.

My role is to bring a field perspective. I try on prototypes, often ones that don’t quite fit, and say what’s wrong: too wide, too small. I haven’t always been listened to the first time! I also helped bring together the people who represent the brand in the mountains, starting with the guides, because guides mainly listen to other guides.

There’s a little family connection in this story: on my grandfather’s side, the family worked in the textile industry in Croix-Rousse 70 or 80 years ago.

Some practices in the industry shock me. We have our contradictions, like everyone else, and we don’t tick every box. But I believe in the project and the values it stands for, and that’s why I’m part of it.