Laëtitia Chomette, a high-mountain educator

Based at the foot of La Meije for the past four years, Laëtitia works as a mountain guide. She has made winter her playground, both for skiing and mountaineering. You may spot her leaving her tracks in the Enfetchores at La Grave, climbing the Syndrome de la fée clochette gully in the Combeynot massif, or skiing around the Goléon area.

Born in Haute-Loire, Laëtitia spent her childhood in a rural setting. It was only around the age of 15 that she discovered the mountains. After a few years of hiking here and there in the Alps, she "landed" in Grenoble to study. Her university studies brought her closer to the peaks, as she devoted herself to cartography and the science of snow and avalanches.

After completing her master's degree in earth and environmental sciences, she had two options: write a thesis or get her hands dirty in the field. She chose the great outdoors. She put her technical skills to work in Andorra, then in Queyras, as a cartographer. She also worked withANENA (the French national association for snow and avalanche studies) as a trainer and as a researcher on local avalanche risk forecasting in partnership with Météo France. Today, scientific work and training account for around 40% of her job.

She devotes the rest of her time to working as a mountain guide. Affiliated with the La Grave Guides Office, she is one of two women among the thirty professionals in the organization.

How did she get there? After finishing her studies, Laëtitia developed a passion for mountaineering. She loves the freedom this sport gives her, discovering new places, the atmosphere of waking up at 3 a.m. She started out as an amateur. Her time with the French mountaineering team gave her confidence and the desire to go further. So she set about preparing her shopping list for the "proba." Her first attempt ended in failure. Never mind! Laetitia "doggedly" pursued skiing to get up to speed. After training and a summer break spent working as a shepherdess in the mountain pastures, she was ready for a second attempt. This time she succeeded! With her precious ticket to success in her pocket, she enrolled in training at the ENSA in Chamonix. Having been on the course for almost two years, she will take her final exam in August 2024.

Her motto? Know how to read the terrain, make choices, take responsibility... "In life, and in the life of a guide, you learn and adapt every day." A born teacher, Laëtitia is satisfied when she sees her clients able to pack their bags efficiently, put on crampons, rope up... She explains, she guides them towards autonomy and, of course, she guides them so that "confidence sets in"! From then on, Laëtitia can consider taking her clients on a ski tour to the Grande Ruine, a place dear to her heart since her partner, Guillaume, runs the Adèle Planchard refuge there. But although she loves skiing, it is winter mountaineering that she really wants to develop. She particularly enjoys introducing people to couloirs. So, who's ready to put on their crampons?

Photos and text: Fabien Dupuis, ambassador for the Hautes Vallées.