Happy 60^th Birthday, Jean-Mi!

Jean-Michel Asselin on the summit of Pumori (7,161m) in 1996, Nepal.
Photo courtesy of his latest book, Les années montagne

           I remember the moment well when Jean-Mi greeted me into his home at 6 bis île d’amour three years ago, when I first arrived in Grenoble. The black gate was already open and he gestured me in without fanfare, as if my presence at his house was already a daily occurrence. As I struggled in the driveway under the load of my skis, climbing equipment and the cursory clothing I’d packed, I caught a glimpse of a sticker on the glass door of the garage advertising “NEPAL: Mystical Kingdom.” While someday I would love to travel to Nepal, ideally with Jean-Mi, over the days and months that followed my arrival I realized that Jean-Mi had given me the keys to a mystical kingdom right here in Grenoble.

           Jean-Mi and Anne’s house is indeed an enchanted place, ruled by their cat, Titi, and powered by love, friendship, wine and delicious food. The bookshelves are full of mysterious titles and pages waiting to be discovered, on diverse subjects all united by the force of Jean-Mi’s curiosity and intellect. The furniture is soft, low and welcoming, allowing friends, food and drinks to interchange freely and with maximum comfort and minimum formality. The garden is an extension of this wondrous landscape: on the western edge there are fruit trees that I remember being planted in 2009, on the southern edge there is a fence preventing the neighbors’ goats and chickens from straying into Titi’s realm, on the eastern edge there is Anne’s vegetable garden and a cherry tree, and in the middle there is soft grass where many contented feet have wandered. Arriving in Grenoble alone as I did, I immediately felt immersed in a family of friends that appeared to be welcoming and tolerant of my strange appearance, accent and tendency to spend every possible moment in the mountains.

         I came to appreciate who Jean-Mi was and his role in the Grenoble mountain community over time and via inference. Of course he would never sit me down and do something so dull as to explain his life story and accomplishments. My clues consisted of his books lying about the house, his photos on the wall, the bins of climbing equipment in the basement spanning several decades worth of designs and styles, his stories over wine, and the reactions of friends and people I met when I mentioned that I lived chez Jean-Michel Asselin. “Ah bon!” they would say, and go on to mention his Himalayan exploits, his time at Vertical magazine, his many books and legendary reputation of being “un alpiniste de la plume.” All of these clues led me to the same conclusion: by pure chance, I had landed in the home of an extraordinary human being.

         From what I have gathered, Jean-Mi appears to interact with mountains in the same way he engages a room full of people, that is to say with boundless energy, surefootedness and humor. His abilities seem to rest more on his agility in the present moment than on prior-planning or calculations. I’ve never climbed with Jean-Mi, but I can imagine him riding the energy of a mountain as he climbs higher and higher, building energy just like he does moving from one glass of red wine to the next.

             I had the privilege of spending one day in the mountains with Jean-Mi, this time on the last day of my stay in Grenoble before flying back to the US that June. I knew we were heading to the Chartreuse Mountains, but to this day I couldn’t say which trailhead we went to or where on the map we hiked. I remember Jean-Mi pointing out the beautiful wooden chalet where he used to live, and saying that part of him would still like to be there. There was no map other than the one in Jean-Mi’s head, no discussion of itinerary or schedule. We just started walking. At an invisible juncture he veered off the well-established trail and motioned for me to follow. We popped out of the forest and were soon traversing beneath glittering limestone cliffs that seemed to reflect the light from the snow-covered slopes of the Belledonne Mountains across the valley. Spying occasional bolts on steep and sculpted stone inspired my climber’s imagination and further enhanced my sense of wonder. I asked Jean-Mi if there was a guidebook published for these routes and he just shook his head. Where was I? Who’s kingdom was this?

        Without warning Jean-Mi stopped and turned to look back at me, gesturing for quiet. We proceeded slowly and silently for a few moments before the sound of clambering hooves caught our attention and caused me to look up. About fifty feet away, amother chamois and her little one were perched in the middle of a steep cliff-face, nonchalantly nibbling on a vertiginous berry patch. We were transfixed. Before we could look away the momma chamois abruptly pointed her horns down the fall-line and, followed by her little one, the two animals rode gravity in perfect balance down the near vertical rock slab to the grassy slopes below. The sight of such agility and grace left me awestruck, and still trying to make sense of what I had just seen long after the pair had sauntered out of sight.

          I found myself trying to work out why it would be in any animal’s best interest to charge down a cliff-face, closely followed by one’s descendant nonetheless. Such a scenario would have surely stumped everybody had it appeared on the Ecology and Evolution exam I took this past fall in my master's program.

              Jean-Mi smiled and pranced about in excite-ment for some time, reveling in the wonder of these animals and feeling perhaps more empathy than puzzlement. I know I will never successfully mimic the grace of a chamois or the charisma of Jean-Mi, but I can embrace their approach to the world around them and do my best to apply it to my own life. Whether it is my relationship with Hillary, my quests in the mountains, my need for friendship, or my aim to gain momentum with school, I can think of no better inspiration than Jean-Mi. In all cases the strategy seems to be similar: be playful, be loving, be strong, and don’t hesitate to point it down the fall-line with everything you’ve got.

             Happy Birthday, Jean-Mi, and thank you for opening the door to life in the mystical kingdom of Grenoble. I will always be grateful.