Pierre-Louis tells us about his mountain

In the heart of the majestic mountains, in the picturesque village of La Grave La Meije, we meet a true lover of the peaks, a local boy, Pierre-Louis Cret, affectionately nicknamed Pilou. This passionate skier has made his way in the world of skiing with unfailing determination. Affiliated with the La Grave sports club, Pilou has distinguished himself by his contagious passion for freeride, a far cry from the picket competitions that often characterize the ski world. Let's delve into the captivating story of this intrepid skier, from his first descents in the valleys to his quest for perfection on the vertiginous slopes of the Alps.

"We were getting pulverized in regional competitions, but we were probably the happiest to go skiing because we didn't just do piquet skiing, we skied all snow and all terrain".

Pierre Louis

Today, we meet Pierre-Louis Cret, better known as Pilou.

A local boy, he grew up in the streets of Villar d'Arène. A fervent protagonist of the La Grave sports club, the club groups together several years of age to have around ten children. Here, "we did less picketing than in the big resorts", and many of them didn't join the ski study section at secondary school. On the other hand, the ratio of fun was multiplied tenfold in a more flexible, freeride organization.

Luka-Leroy

The first in the Vallons

Inspired by his dad's job as a mountain guide, Pilou chose to follow in his footsteps.

Ever since he was a little boy, he'd go skiing with him and some of his clients on the itineraries available to him.

"I don't exactly remember my first descent into the valleys, I just remember wanting to do a second one and falling asleep in the skips on the way back up".

Naturally, from the age of 20, he was determined to obtain his mountain guide diploma, which he wanted to practise... at La Grave!

Ski lift La Grave La Meije © Thibaut Blais

Its special relationship with the mountains

T.Blais

When we talk about mountains, we see her eyes sparkle and her body come alive.

"The mountains are my favorite environment". The years and the time spent, both winter and summer, among the peaks have taught us the laws that apply to this wild environment. It's the mountain that decides, and it's stronger than we are. From an early age, we've always been educated in this sense, "when our parents let us go skiing on our own, we had several conditions to respect" .

A fine performance in the Derby de la Meije

©T.Blais

A performance on such a legendary "home" race is bound to change something in the daily life of a local skier.

In 2019, Pilou finished 2nd scratch in the Derby de la Meije. This was followed by the start of partnerships with various brands. Skiing with sponsors is something else: you're not just skiing for yourself, you're bringing a more media-friendly dimension to your performances. That's when our local skier started entering freeride competitions like the Qualifiers. The various events take place on the European continent: France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, but also in other countries: Japan, China, the USA... Entering this level of competition requires a huge investment, both personally and financially. You have to be free, you have to travel, you have to be consistent in your performances.

For Pierre-Louis, this was a pivotal experience. In this competition format, there's no stopwatch; you ski to be seen and noted by a jury.

"I fell a lot because I wanted to ski above my level, you only do one run in a day and you impose the criteria that the judges like, I felt I wasn't having the same degree of pleasure as when I was skiing for myself or with friends, it was frustrating."

Training for the guide diploma finally tipped the balance: getting injured was not an option!

A perfect day for Pilou

©T.Blais

Taking the first dumpster "on TV" and making the first track is fine, but you can do better.

What drives the young skier is the game of adaptation. Preparing his day the day before, taking into account all the parameters such as snow, weather, wind direction, face orientation, playing and adjusting his choices to nature to take advantage of the best it has to offer. There's nothing more gratifying than sweating it out on the way up, only to be rewarded with a descent in perfect condition.

We didn't mention it, but days are always tastier when they're shared with loved ones, so a pinch of good friends (most of them the same ones from ski club days, of course) is the perfect flavour enhancer for a successful recipe for happiness!

“I think my best memory was the winter of Covid. There were no ski lifts, it was also our first winter living together, nobody was working, we skied as much as possible, we did between 1,000 and 2,000 meters of elevation gain per day. We got up early, came home early, and did some crazy runs until the end of winter. The conditions were great, with snow that stuck well on the steep slopes. We were able to ski Les Agneaux, Col Clair, La Ginelle, Saint-Antoine, Les Pans de Rideaux, and La Meije with a night at Chatelleret, leaving directly from home and returning home. It was exceptional."

T.Blais

His flagship route

M.Molinari

After a few seconds' hesitation, the choice fell on Combeynot, on the Col du Lautaret.

Not surprisingly, this summit meets all the criteria for versatility: a start at 2000m for maximum snow cover, access from the north face and the possibility of switching to the south face to find spring snow. The face is longer without being overly committed, and above all, there's more downhill than uphill, so the choice is quickly made!

A colorful fall with two films released!

Guided tours in Clarée - Photograph of the village of Névache - Alps Photographs

The first was produced by Lange, based on the idea of one of the brand's cameramen, an enthusiast of the sector.

The film was made in collaboration with Joe Vallon (a local figure) around the Y, a mythical and committed couloir at La Grave. The aim is to highlight the passing on of knowledge from generation to generation, and the spirit of sharing that is characteristic of great skiers who no longer have to prove themselves. The first time in the Y for Pierre-Louis, and the thirtieth for Joe... Access to the couloir in question is completely dependent on snow conditions, and with the retreat of the glaciers and low snowfall the couloir is getting steeper and longer... We'll let you watch the film to find out what happens next!

©Luka Leroy

The second film was directed by Pierre Petit, based on Pierre-Louis's idea, in the bowels of the high mountains c'est pas la capitale, c'est la Grave BB.

A film that reflects the canton's new generation of "skibums". Historically, ski bums were literally the "bums" of skiing. More generally, they were obsessive skiers (or snowboarders) with a minimum of financial means, putting aside everything else - material, personal, family and even hygienic comforts if the concession was to live in a truck in winter so as to be able to stay in the resort.

Today, the expression has taken on a more flexible resolution. It applies to those who do everything in their power to ski as much as possible.

For Pilou and his gang, this means working hard the rest of the year to free up time in winter. It's a precarious balance, since, as he rightly points out, "to have comfort you have to have money, to have money you have to work, and if you work you don't have time to ski. And if you ski, you don't have time to work."

Last winter, the boys chose to ride for the whole season, but when the warm weather returned, it was time to return to their respective professional activities to replenish the coffers. This year, for the future guide, such freedom was out of the question, as the diploma was expensive and funds were needed. A compromise was reached with an activity where he has enough time between noon and midday to make a few curves in his favorite playground.

©Aurelien-Papa

Although the skibums are the main idea of the film, it's a more general encounter with the village of La Grave and its inhabitants that is presented to us through landscapes and events.

In the face of ski resorts that are modernizing at a frantic pace in a bid to attract ever more shoppers, here we take the opposite approach: a village, a cable car, with all that that encompasses, the spirit, the proximity, the different rhythm of the local bars and shops, here there's no need to go out during the week, it's Friday or Saturday night... At the end of the film, we discover a brief glimpse of the mythical event we mentioned earlier: the Derby de la Meije. A crazy, freeride race where the party is as important as the race itself. Several of the film's protagonists are at the heart of the organization, playing a vital role in the smooth running of the weekend.

The guide profession

Mountaineering in the Hautes-Alpes, La Grave

T.Blais

The interesting thing about being a mountain guide is that you can juggle different disciplines, between mountaineering, climbing and skiing.

Some itineraries were possible before, but are no longer possible today. Once again, you'll have to play with the terrain and conditions, and adapt accordingly.

Being a guide is a multi-faceted profession, but for Pilou in particular, it means explaining the mountains, helping people to understand safety and independence, as well as educating and raising awareness of the environment around us.

The best mountain souvenir

"I think it was the bivouac at the summit of the grand Pic de la Meije, so it wasn't skiing but alpinism. It's even more special because I took Tommy and Remy up there. Their family has run the Chancel refuge for over 30 years. For us, La Meije is part of the scenery of our lives, we see it every day. For them it was the first time they'd been to the summit of the Meije, for me the second. The conditions were crazy, we had a crazy sunset and sunrise, we had a beer at the summit with a view of 1000 stars. When it all comes together, when you live this exceptional moment, when you share the adventure with childhood friends, it's just unique. We'll remember it for the rest of our lives. You can do this climb every year, with different people, in different conditions, but you never know how it's going to go, you'll never experience the same thing twice. For me, that's what makes the mountains and the moments we share in them so intense."

And outside the mountains, what do we do?

M.Molinari

"I ride my bike, I love it! But I think if I don't do sports, I party a lot, I don't know if that counts as a passion. And if I'm not partying, I'm mountain climbing! And I also have a passion for cats!"