In the Queen's Shadow:
La Meije in all its majesty
One April morning in 2025, the air is crisp, laden with the promise of spring that hasn't quite banished winter. Pilou Cret , a local and high-mountain guide, greets us with the quiet smile of someone who knows every wrinkle of the glacier. Beside him are Clémentine and Paul de Pourtalès , the Lagoped Family's Freeride athlete, competing in the Freeride World Tour in 2026.
In La Grave, the high mountains are not described, they are experienced. Above 3,200 meters, the scenery changes scale. The gaze wanders across the Girose glacier, navigating between the Grandes Jorasses and Mont Blanc, before encountering the north face of La Meije, a wall of rock and ice that seems to watch over the world.
It is here, at the very edge of the sky, that our clothing takes on its full meaning. Designed to last, it is the link between humankind and the wild. On this uncharted terrain, where the mountain reigns supreme, technical expertise becomes an ally of freedom. Between seracs and moraines, we trace ephemeral lines on an ancient glacier, aware of the fragility of this crystal realm that it is our duty to protect.
Welcome to the "Mecca". Here, there are no groomed slopes or reassuring markers. The Meije valley area is a space of pure creation, an adventure playground where skiing becomes an exploration once again.
To embark on the slopes with Paul is to understand that freeriding is a form of poetry in motion. It's about choosing your line with respect, reading the snow like you read a poem, and equipping yourself with gear that respects the environment you're traversing. In La Grave, every turn is a signature, every descent a lesson in humility before the power of our mountains.