Orpierre: a weekend to train the mountaineers of tomorrow

It was at the foot of the sunny cliffs of Orpierre, a prime climbing spot in the Hautes-Alpes, that the new adventure of the spring mountaineering class of the École de la Montagne began. Three days immersed in limestone, taking a first step toward autonomy on big routes.

Around five passionate guides — Ludo (Lagoped partner guide), Rémy, Niels, Hugo, and Didier — twenty students divided into teams with clever names: the Zebras, the Buffles, the Orangutans, the Leopards, and the Raccoons, embark on the adventure. The tone is set from the first evening at the lodge: here, you don’t come to consume a service, you come to learn to become an active participant in your own progress, by mastering mountain tools — ropes, maps, nuts, topo... and team spirit.

On Friday, it's off to the sport climbing crags to get familiar. Everyone leads climbs, reviews anchor techniques, learns how to manage a rappel descent... In the evening, there’s an orientation workshop: azimuths, reading IGN maps, and even a small group challenge. All in an atmosphere that is studious, joyful, and responsible. After a long trek, the Buffles team emerges victorious from the orientation challenge.

On Saturday, the serious stuff begins: each group sets off to climb an easy big route. The goal? Learn by doing, with the guide's advice, but making the decisions as the lead climber. Some groups are already testing more advanced scenarios: ascending on a rope, losing equipment, helping the second climber... Realistic situations designed to prepare future mountaineers to methodically handle the unexpected.

In the evening, back at the lodge for a key exercise: the complete preparation of the next day’s outing (the “race prep”), done by the students and then presented to their guide as if they were going to take him to the mountain. A demanding but very educational simulation.

On the last day, the rope teams head into longer routes, managing rappels and, for some, discovering adventure terrain. It’s an opportunity to cover the basics of placing protection (in equipped routes) and reading the rock. The atmosphere is focused, the movements precise. Every move strengthens a slowly but surely growing autonomy.

This weekend in Orpierre was not just a technical learning session. It was also a way to pass on another vision of the mountain: more responsible, more collective, more committed.

Values that Lagoped deeply shares with theMountain School. Producing locally, using recycled materials, protecting this fragile space that is the mountain… so many principles we have in common.

A promotion is born. The adventure is just beginning. 🏔️