Mathéo Jacquemoud has recently returned to ski mountaineering competition and has recently participated in the World Championships and the Pierra Menta. The man who is also a high mountain guide talks about his career management, his life close to nature and his undying love for the mountains.
At the time of our call, Mathéo Jacquemoud was second on the Pierra Menta after two days. We don't know it yet, but the weather the following day forced the organizers to cancel the third stage scheduled for March 10. Fog, rain, hail and gusts of up to 100 km/h prevented the legendary ski mountaineering race from running normally. The athletes were forced to rest for a day. A first in the history of the Pierra Menta. The four-time world champion and his team-mate Samuel Equy will have to wait 24 hours before resuming the race on Saturday. "First place is up for grabs", he explains, "but we could very well finish fourth or fifth too...".
In the end, he finished the 2023 edition in third place, regretting that "we didn't have the opportunity to express ourselves on the shortened final day". While waiting to meet up with him again on a future race or expedition, we spoke to the athlete The North Face to talk about managing his career with his role as a family man, his recent return to ski mountaineering and his environmental aspirations.
The return to competition
"Last year, I returned to competition after a five-year break. I'd been thinking about it when I was coaching the French ski mountaineering team. In the end, I decided to put my number back on, and that also enabled me to get back into the training rhythm I'd been missing. But today, performance doesn't have the same flavour. I prioritize certain races because I simply don't have the time to do everything. From now on, I'll be racing for pleasure, but that pleasure also includes playing up front. I haven't set a date when I'll stop racing for good. As long as I'm having fun in the races, I'll carry on, knowing that ski mountaineering is coming up to the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games in 2026."
The results of the world championships
"At the World Championships in Boi Taull, Spain, we finished fourth in the team race with Samuel (Equy, his team-mate). Clearly, it's a mixed result, as we had the weapons to go for a bronze medal. It's not catastrophic either, but we didn't run the best race possible. I also think that our pairing has the profile to perform better at the long-distance world championship, which takes place on March 25 at the Adamello Ski Raid. Samuel and I are well used to each other by now. He helps me as much as I help him with race management. Maybe at the beginning of our sporting relationship, I could give a direction, but it's balanced today and he's as much a leader as I am in the duo we form."
The life of a family man
"Clearly, it's not the easiest thing to manage (laughs). But as I said, I don't consider myself to be at the top level anymore. I still have a good level, but it's not like before. I give my all in the races that suit me. That leaves me time for my family and everything else. I also work as a guide and instructor at ENSA (Ecole Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme), so you have to know how to manage all that. On a race like the Pierra Menta or the Worlds, I'm up against athletes who are professionals at 100%, but that's no longer my case at all."
Support from partners
"The North Face continues to help me, as does Julbo, another long-standing partner. It allows me to still have this sporting life for six months of the year. It's clearly a blessing. I'm also happy that I'm no longer training in the summer, but simply doing sport for myself, going into the mountains with my customers."
Its environmental awareness
"I don't say much about the environment because I don't feel I'm in a position to give lessons. Obviously, I observe things through my job as a guide, which means I'm outside all the time. We've been seeing changes for a very long time now because of global warming. On a daily basis, I do the best I can. For me, it's natural to eat locally, to have a garden, chickens, bees... I've always done it because that's how I was brought up, close to nature. I also try to change my clothes less often and not always have two of everything. But it's clear that when you're a top-level athlete, you're far from exemplary."
His work with ACTS ("Action Collective de Transition pour nos Sommets"): Mathéo, like other athletes, had committed to reducing his global emissions by 10% each year by 2020.
"Yes, I'd managed to keep the commitments I'd made after signing the ACTS. Afterwards, I don't calculate everything to the gram, but it's clear that it's also an objective to do more local and to show that another way of travelling is possible. As a professional athlete, we also have the role of discussing and exchanging ideas with the brands that support us when we're less happy with certain actions. But I don't think they need us to change things. They're well aware of the problem.
His crossing of the Mont Blanc massif with Benjamin Védrines
"It's the kind of project that's always spoken to me. When I was 17 or 18, I was already involved in this type of challenge, particularly in the Ecrins bar. It took us 20 hours to complete the 70-kilometer crossing and 7,300 meters of ascent. We had a great day. Basically, I'm more passionate about mountains than competition. Taking part in competitions is a pretext for being able to evolve in the mountains."
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