"Upurkushun" is online!
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Photo: Adrien Rui / Milc Collective
Upurkushun, an expedition in the Andes
Little flashback: we are in the spring of 2021. Damien Arnaud & Mathieu Moullier are 20 years old. While confined in Chamonix, they dream of South America, pisco sour and riding, with their Chamonix rope-mates, the highest faces of the Cordillera Blanca.
Good morning Damien Arnaud. Photo: Adrien Rui / Milc Collective
the first time
The project quickly takes shape, carried by the spirit of their youth. It is planned to leave in June for Peru. For most of these young mountaineers, this is their first trip. "It was the first time we flew alone. Without Jules, we would never have made it," laughs Damien Arnaud, who continues: "We hardly know how to clean our room and we're off to climb 6,000-meter peaks in a country we don't know".
southern edge of the Tocllaraju
In the middle of the health crisis, this project seems unfeasible. No one believes in this expedition which mixes charitable action and the attempt of a first ski descent by the southern edge of the Tocllaraju.
No one believed in it, except this irreducible crew of Chamoniards.
No one believed in it, except this irreducible crew of Chamoniards.
The irreducible Chamonix next generation. Photo: Adrien Rui / Milc Collective
Neither the pandemic nor a very limited budget will prevent this band of young enthusiasts from going to the end of the dream they share. June 2021, against all odds, they arrive in Huaraz, a small town in the Cordillera Blanca overlooked by emblematic peaks such as the Huascaran or the Alpamayo.
now or never
After a week of acclimatization, it is time to get down to business. After crossing the Ishinca valley, the group notices during the approach walk to the Tocclaraju that the snow conditions are good, exceptional even. The planets seem to be aligned, it's now or never.
Southern edge of Tocclaraju (6030 m.) 23 years after Marco Siffredi. Photo: Adrien Rui / Milc Collective
Far beyond the altitude sickness, the endless approaches, the climbed peaks or the failed attempts, "Upurkushun" is above all a refreshing documentary about dreams and friendship. Accompanied by the superb original music of Jules Gasquet, it is also an ode to the first trip, naive and carefree.
This film, directed by Maxime AUBRY et Aurèle MAYOL and produced by Ivresse films is now online and forever at the following link.
