High Alpinism! High Jinx!
I’ll start with an apology. This is long overdue. When Arc’teryx called the WT switchboard (which department do you require?) and kindly invited us to the Academy in Chamonix, an institution we have long pined to attend, despite being in the middle of a print deadline, we couldn’t say no.
Since then life has moved fast, print deadlines, events, I’m writing this from a hotel breakfast in Lima. Life on the front lines of WT editorial dept is as usual, is a shitshow. We finally received scans back from our time in Cham and the heartstrings have been pulled. So here we are, the Arc Academy in the rearview.
Now in it’s 15th year, the Chamonix Arc’teryx academy is a veritable institution of high Alpinism and high vibes. A mixture of music, art and alpism with community at it’s core. Now alpism isn’t our usual kettle of fish but the opportunity of seeing both editors fall down and be rescued from a Crevassee was too good to pass up.
Our days are spent on the the glaciers and alpine pastures of Chamonix and the surrounding mountains and valleys, trail running, ice climbing, learning about glaciers and most entertainingly, crevasse rescue, which I can say with a firm degree of certancy is the most scared our editorial team have been in their thirties.
With a mixture of friendly faces, the Victor Daviets, the Sevi’s the Perly’s of this world as well as a whole host of new friends and faces from the wider Arc group, the custom built village in the center of Chamonix is the meeting point for all after long days on the mountain, licking our sunburned faces (turns out Glaciers in July have quite intense UV) it’s the evening where the Arc’teryx academy really lights up.
With Shanti Celeste, Theo Parrish and many other incredibly talented musician bringing the heat in the evening, it’s fair to say the days on the glacies and the nights in the village are cut from the same cloth — full send. It’s this balance, mountains by day and music by night, that makes the Academy what it is.
With Winter Academies planned in St Anton and Japan this winter, we can’t wait to see what comes next. More on that soon…
