A long single file of French mountain soldiers ski-tours through fog and snow-laden fir forest

Portfolio

Mountain Warfare School

In Chamonix, beneath Mont Blanc, the French Army keeps an old school with a simple doctrine: in the mountains, the first adversary is the mountain.

Here soldiers learn what the high country demands before it will let them fight in it — the rope and the ice axe, the avalanche drill, the tent pitched in a blizzard; and in summer, the glacier, the rock face, the cable stretched above the torrent. The rifle is carried everywhere, but up here it is the knot that keeps you alive.

Two French mountain soldiers set off on a long mountain run over a sunlit snowy col, peaks behind — Setting off on a long mountain run.

A soldier in white camouflage climbs a steep snowy gully on a fixed cable — Up the gully, on the fixed cable.

A squad of French soldiers readies rifles in a snowy valley beneath grey cliffs — Weapons drill in the snow.

A mountain soldier shovels snow while building an igloo during survival training — Essential Life Skills: Building an Igloo.

A soldier anchors a tent with a ski during heavy snowfall, another hauling a sled behind — Bivouac in the blizzard.

A GMHM instructor hauls a sled through thick falling snow, training commandos for polar environments — A member of the GMHM (High-Altitude Military Group) is training commandos to navigate polar environments.

Soldiers take a break in an Alpine hunters’ cabin, vintage skis and ice axes on the walls — A break at one of the Alpine hunters’ cabins.

A soldier splashes his face at a fountain during a summer mountain race, the Aiguille du Midi behind — A mountain race in the middle of summer.

An armed soldier crosses a tyrolean line high above a gorge with waterfalls — The tyrolean, high above the torrent.

Commandos practise a rope-crossing technique above a raging glacial torrent — Commandos must master all crossing techniques.

An instructor watches four trainees climbing a granite crag in soft evening light — Climbing lessons under the watchful eye of one of the school’s instructors.

A roped soldier with crampons and ice axe on patrol on the Argentière Glacier — Patrol on the Argentière Glacier.

Mountain troops in white parade uniform on a Chamonix square, Mont Blanc massif towering behind — Chamonix. The ceremony, with Mont Blanc as witness.