The Lapied Films “Voyage to the far side of winter”

Never before had the mountain been so strong.
Never have we felt so small in front of this force.
For thirty years now, we have been trying to bring back exceptional images of this wild life that fascinates us.
The mountain is our master but that winter we were to receive our most beautiful lesson in humility. It all started in September with a mountain empty of hikers, an autumn full of colours, sun and smells.
A time of abundance, of ripe wild fruits and plump animals passing by our chalet. We are in the heart of the Grand Paradis National Park where we have chosen to live for part of the year.
Then one day in October, the first snow surprised us while we were filming a fox at 2500m altitude, the snow ...
The mad chases of the rutting chamois made the powder fly to our great joy, but on December 15th, more than 1.5 metres of snow fell in less than 24 hours. From the steep walls of nearly 2000m that guard the Valsavarenche, the avalanches followed one after another. The fifty inhabitants who live in this deep valley are cut off from
the world and busy clearing the huge snow slides that have razed some houses and covered the roads. The snow comes and comes again. We in the meantime, follow day after day, the behaviour of chamois, ibex, hares, eagles and other animals. The winter has only just begun...