Kilian has through his foundation, the Kilian Jornet Foundation, kindly endorsed Chamonix Perspectives, and contributed by writing the foreword of the book.

It is hard to introduce Kilian and his impressive superhuman achievements shortly. He has run, skied, and climbed mountains faster than any other human, and won enough extreme races to place him among the very top of all-time mountain superstars. He has won several World and European Championships in ski mountaineering. He has made first descents on ski that no one believed possible. He summitted Mount Everest twice in one week and holds the record of fastest time from base camp to summit (17h). He has the fastest known time of valley-summit-valley of Mont Blanc (<5h), Matterhorn (<3h), Denali (<12h) and Aconcagua (<13h). He holds the record of the fastest 1,000 vertical meters run (28m48s) and is a four-time winner of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc and four-time winner of the Hardrock 100. The list could go on.

Kilian lived for several years in the Chamonix valley. Today, he lives in northern Norway with his family.

Please visit: www.kilianjornet.cat and www.kilianjornetfoundation.org.

Picture: Kilian kindly posing with my two sons at the Midi cable car

Ludo has a Ph.D. and works as a researcher at Université Savoie Mont Blanc, in the Laboratory of Environment Dynamics and Territories of the Mountain. He grew up in Chamonix and comes from a long line of mountain guides. He is still a member of the esteemed Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix, together with 11 other guides who carry the Ravanel family name. The rare combination of scientist and guide, along with a life lived in Chamonix, makes his input extraordinarily valuable.

Picture: Ludo trying to teach my sons the magic of tying a figure 8 knot, July 2011.

Asmus is a Danish national who has been working as a mountain guide in Chamonix for nearly 25 years. Asmus was the first Dane to graduate from ENSA, École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme, the esteemed mountain guide academy in Chamonix. He is also the only Dane to date to have summited Mount Everest twice. Among his achievements are some of the most mythical and difficult routes in the Alps, such as the Eiger Nordwand. A qualified guess is that Asmus also holds the title as the Dane with most Mont Blanc summits and Haute Route completions. Asmus lives in Chamonix with his family.

Picture: Asmus guiding my wife and I on the last day of the Haute Route between Chamonix and Zermatt, April 2021.

Sam grew up in the Chamonix valley and still lives there with his family. His father was a mountain guide, and his mother was a ski instructor and mountain hut keeper. So, no surprise that Sam turned into a master of high mountain disciplines and a Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix member. Sam's talent, courage, and sense of adventure have led him to a first ski descent of the mythical Grandes Jorasses in Chamonix, an attempt at snowboarding the north face of Everest, opening several new climbing routes in Pakistan, 700+ base jumps plus pioneer base-jumping in Antarctica – a region where he has become a special advisor. Happily, and amazingly, he is still alive to share his thoughts.

Picture: Sam guiding my wife and me on a spring ski tour in the Aiguilles Rouges, March 2022.

Tim is a British IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) mountain guide based in Chamonix. In addition to guiding clients, he is the Technical Director of the British Mountain Guides and is involved in the mentoring, training, and assessment of younger guides. Tim has been drawn (or pushed) to the Arctics as a guide for many years. He also has worked for the British Antarctic Survey. He is recognized as an expert on mountaineering and skiing on the Antarctic Peninsula. Tim has climbed many of the Alpine North Faces and Grande Courses, plus new routes in the U.K., Norway, Antarctica, and Alaska. Many of these adventures have been published all over the net, in alpine club journals, in various climbing magazines, and have even attracted recognition from the Piolet d'Or award.

Picture: Tim guiding my youngest son and myself on the Cosmiques ridge while also looking after the 'chocards', March 2019.

Pica grew up in the Chamonix valley. He traversed and summitted the Mont Blanc in one day at the age of 12, and from there, the list of mythical north faces and summits he has conquered is long and impressive. Today, he is a member of Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix. Pica belongs to a very exclusive team of steep-face snowboarders in Chamonix. He is known for practically inventing the snowboard technique with two ice axes. His talent and bravery — mixed with humbleness and modesty — can be admired in several movies screened at mountain film festivals. Pica has led expeditions to Pakistan several times. He's made impressive descents (some first) of the high and steep peaks, raised funds, and collected snowboarding gear for the Karakoram Valley's local communities. Pica is also an athlete member of the environmental organization Protect Our Winters.

Picture: Pica guiding me on the Midi-Plan Traverse with the Mont Blanc and the Aiguille du Midi in the background, July 2018.

Martial is from Auvergne in France but lives in Chamonix, where he is a member of Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix. Martial is a rock and ice climber, a big wall adventurer. In 2007, two years after the collapse of the Bonatti Pillar on the famous Les Drus in Chamonix, Martial did a seven-day first winter climb of the west face of Petit Drus, a feat that attracted attention from the media. Martial has climbed most routes in Yosemite and opened routes on some of the world's most challenging walls. The first Chamonix guides were either hunters of chamois or crystals. When not guiding clients, you can find Martial hunting for crystals in the remote cracks of Chamonix's high mountains.

Picture: Martial guiding me and some friends ski touring in the Argentière basin, April 2022.