A tribute by Luca Albertoni

During my visits to the crag at St-Legier-Vevy, I came to recognise a number of extreme climbers. I gazed at virtuosos of the ninth grade, such as Francois Nicole and Josune Berziartu (though with Josune it was less a case of knowing her and more a case of just admiring her!). Others were equally amazing.

Amongst these was a man of a certain age; he appeared to be around 70, small in stature – at most 1.60m – with curious eyes. I was greatly surprised when I learnt that Marcel Remy – father of the best known climbing team in Switzerland – was over 80 years old. Immediately my admiration for him grew.

In Spring 2007, a great dream of mine became reality. The Remy family invited me to join them on a climbing trip to Kalymnos. As a result of this unforgettable trip, I would like to talk about this elderly man. Born on 6th February 1923, he became involved in classic alpinism from an early age and maintained the same energy and passion for the sport, and all that it involves, throughout his whole life. Two hip replacements a while ago did not reduce his desire or his interest. Every day he led a significant number of climbs in the fifth grade. For example, he succeeded in climbing a 5c+ that is well worth mentioning: the 32m long Guillot Corner, a beautiful climb, with variety rare at this level. Wherever we went, Marcel attracted the interest and admiration of others. Amazed climbers stopped to watch and cheer him on, shouting and clapping. I will never forget the touching and magical atmosphere as he climbed Monahiki Elia (6a+) at the Grande Grotta. The rocks will always echo with the joy of the moment; all the climbers at the crag, from so many different countries and speaking so many different languages, stopped climbing and spontaneously shouted encouragement to Marcel: “Yes! granddad!”. A superb moment, so touching and unique. Unbelievable Marcel, you are still able to stir the enthusiasm of four twenty-year-old women! After we saw Marcel’s great form, we suggested that he try some routes at 6a. Surpassing his limits and resisting the temptation to pull on the quickdraws, he led two more 6as onsight (or maybe they were more like flashes than onsight leads given the enthusiastic prompting of those encouraging him): these were “Porno kini”, a new route at Arginonta, and “Maria” at Dodoni, both “produced” by the same family as Guillot Corner. Also, I mustn’t forget to mention some of the harder routes which Marcel climbed on tope-rope: “I love Kalymnos” and “Music of Rock” at the Guillot sector, “Thetis” at Arhi and “Themelina” at Dodoni.

Marcel’s endless enthusiasm gives us a priceless lesson.