Alfredo Favre: Life in the Alpine Mountains

Q: How has the landscape changed over the years?

‍A: The cable cars in Champoluc date back to the 1960s- I remember watching them being built. Back then, the villages were very isolated, with everyone mostly staying within their own little village. I still remember that in winter, we would walk from Saint Jacques to Champoluc on a dirt road covered with snow to catch the bus that left in the morning and returned at 8 in the evening. It feels like another era now; so much has changed. When I was little, Saint Jacques had everything; it was a micro-system. Today, in 2024, to buy bread or necessities, you have to go to Champoluc.

Q: How did you become an alpine guide? How did it all start?

‍A: My grandfather, Frachey Silvèn Amilio, was the only one in his family not to leave for America in the early 1900s.

Instead, he enlisted in the First World War, married, and had many adventures. Although he was an experienced alpine guide, my grandfather was too old for me, so I started working with my father's two cousins in Blanchard, a small village above Saint Jacques.

I started helping them with their clients. I completed my aspirant guide course in 1969 when I was 19. At that time, the course was mainly attended by locals, unlike today, when there are many participants from outside the area.

In 1975, at the age of 25, I took the guide course. I don't remember my first outing with clients, but I must have been very excited. I worked as a guide from 1969 to about 1987 and was president of the Ayas Guide Society from 1975 to 2016. I was also an active member of the Aosta Valley Mountain Rescue.

I started with the first helicopters and carried out many rescues, some of them were very difficult. I remember some rescues vividly, while others have faded over time. When you do this job, you learn to live in a bubble.

Q: How did you end up managing the Quintino Sella refuge?

‍A: I have been visiting the refuge since I was a boy, intending to become a guide.

In the summer, I worked as a porter for Quintino Sella. Every 10 to 15 days I carried supplies up to the so-called "mule hut" (the point where the mules could go when there was snow).

I did the Saint Jacques to Sella in 4.5 hours—athlete’s time!

Years later, in June 1987, I started managing the refuge alongside Adriano Favre and his wife, Liliana Pession, after winning a bid to take over from the previous manager from the Gressoney Valley.

Q: And what is it like?

‍A: As a refuge manager, I've always enjoyed my job. It comes with a lot of responsibilities, but it's a magnificent experience. In a way, it's like being on a ship, and as a manager, you're like the captain - you have to be resourceful and prepared to deal with any major problems. I've always done everything, except cook!

There's a funny story about the previous refuge manager, Camillo, and his wife, Matilde. When the first phones were installed in the early 1970s, people didn't book their stays in advance like they do today. Sometimes only a few people would show up, but other times as many as 200 arrived.

People would sleep everywhere, on the floor, on tables, just to have shelter. To prepare for the influx of people, Camillo would use binoculars to look at the crest and estimate how many people were coming. If a lot of people were on their way, he would return to the refuge and tell his wife, who was in the kitchen making soup, "Matilde, giunta acqua che arriva gente!" which meant "Matilde, add water because people are coming!" She would then stretch the soup with water to make it enough for everyone.

Q: What has changed since 1987?

‍A: The mountains have always been a very popular destination, but the way people visit has changed over time. In the beginning, managing the refuge was like hosting an open house for everyone, especially in the early years.

Over time, staff welcomed people, prepared food, and maintained the area. Now, however, there is a lot more bureaucracy, and it feels more like running a hotel with various obligations. Also, In the 1970s, mountaineering was a very elite sport. There were already women going to the mountains, but none were guides - even today, there are still not many compared to men.

Q: How many times have you fallen in love at the refuge?

‍A: Haha  (laughter) - That happened too! We always had some beautiful girls, I must say, maybe because we saw so few. Once, I had a serious relationship that started right there.

Q: Why do you think people have this passionate love for the mountains, this connection that drives them to overcome fatigue, cold, and extreme conditions?

‍A: I have to say that many times I worked as a guide, not so much for pleasure but more as a job. However, when I guided people, it was usually for an elite sport, done by special individuals who wanted to push their limits and feel like heroes. It's a very rewarding job to see people challenge themselves and rely on you to face personal adventures and test their limits.

There's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders as a guide. Let me tell you a story. Many years ago, a fellow guide asked me to take two clients on the Sarezza Ridge. It's a relatively easy 3rd-grade ridge, but very exposed and airy. I agreed we arranged the details, and the next day we met to set off. When we introduced ourselves at the base of the ridge, it became clear that the two gentlemen, who were of a certain age, had never climbed before and seemed a bit scared. So I suggested we take it step by step, starting with the easier pitches. Slowly but surely, we made it to the top, and the joy we all felt was immense. It was a challenging decision because the safety of the clients always comes first.

Q: Do you ski?

A: Of course, I ski! Even though I wasn’t a skiing champion back then, being a guide was more about walking. I started skiing seriously during my military service in La Thuile, where I also did piste rescue, trail maintenance, and worked on the cable cars. It was a life entirely in the mountains.

Q: Your favorite place here in Val d’Ayas?

‍A: My favourite place is Lochien Lake.‍

Q: A mountain you particularly liked in the world?‍

‍A: Mount Kenya, very technical. I haven’t climbed any 8000-meter peaks, but some 7000-meter ones. I also climbed Aconcagua in South America.Mountain people are similar everywhere in the world. The villages, lifestyle, architecture, and needs are the same, and wherever you are in the world, if you’re in the mountains, you feel a bit at home.

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Q: You worked a lot in mountain rescue, do you remember your first rescue?

‍A: The first rescue I ever did was one that will always stay with me. It happened on July 15, 1970, during my first year as an aspirant guide.

I was with my cousins Umberto and Augusto at the Rocce Nere, accompanying a group of people climbing the Castor. While we were out, we received news that a guide from Gressoney, along with two priests, had fallen from the west face of the Castor.

We stayed at the Mezzalama refuge that night, and the next day, with the help of other guides, we went to retrieve them. It was a very challenging rescue; the helicopter couldn't reach us due to the difficult terrain. We had to slide them down the ice and then carry them on our shoulders to the valley.

I will never forget the entire experience: the situation, the sounds, and the smells. Throughout my life, I have witnessed many things, and over time, some memories fade while others remain vivid. I have lost many dear people in the mountains, often due to fatal distractions. I've also seen remarkable changes in mountain equipment.

When I started, rappelling was done by passing the rope under your legs, tying it around the waist, and using heavy iron pitons and carabiners, often handmade. Nowadays, I find myself working more from the ground.

This year, I've started allowing myself the pleasure of traveling and exploring the world for leisure. Recently, I have visited Greece, Thailand, and Jordan. In fact, I have always traveled extensively around the world when I wasn't at the refuge.

Q: Have you ever considered a different Alfredo? For example, “I would have liked to be a surfer”

‍A: I never thought of doing it, but in my fantasy, yes. Let me tell you a story that has always stayed in my mind. With Adriano Favre, a friend and alpine guide with whom I managed the Sella, we traveled the world to climb mountains. We did almost all the mountains in Africa.

We traveled to accompany clients, and one year, we decided to climb Mount Kenya, just the two of us -  one of the climbs I remember as one of the most beautiful and enjoyable; we had a lot of fun. During this climb, we met a Kenyan guide named Douglas. For him, guiding was just accompanying people to the refuge, nothing dangerous.

After years of working there, this guide, we discovered, stopped being a guide and went to become a pearl fisherman in Mombasa! This struck me a lot at the time, and it has always stayed with me as a thought. I wondered why I couldn’t go pearl fishing, too. But I’m not very familiar with water; honestly, I don’t even know how to swim, and I have the specific weight of the stones from the Evançon!

Anyway, even though I’ve travelled all over the world, I’ve always remained very attached to my village and my mountains.