By Anne-Flore Marxer
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
I REALLY needed to change my way of discovering the mountains to fulfil my thirst for adventure, that feeling of freedom, and it all came to me with RISE, a splitboarding journey into the deep of the mountains of Patagonia. For those who don’t speak core snowboard language, I got my snowboard, the APO MTD 156cm, cut it into a splitboard, so that it would split in half its length. That way I could use ski touring tracks to go uphill and then click it back into a snowboard for the ride down.
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
Thibaud Duchosal and Lucas Swieykowski (YES SKIERS!) had travelled from the French Alps to Russia and Japan last winter and had kept a spot for a snowboarder to tag along to Patagonia, a girl even! GREAT, for a reason that I didn’t really understand fully, it is not that easy to find snowboarders when we are talking hiking long ways and sleeping by the fire in the mountains!
It was the best training camp ever! Jumping on a horse with my riding stuff on the back, I was the happiest kid on earth, so proud, so happy, so curious and enthusiastic – so many teeth showing on my smiling face! I was hours away from the closest ski resort, in an area called Baguales Patagonia after crossing rivers to reach the mountains. Horseback riding through the wilderness until we reached the bottom of the faces.
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
The rhythm of my days was set: hiking, turning my snowboard into a soft and unsharp pair of skis, putting on the skins, splitboarding up to the top of the ridges, sweating and then layers off. The Andean condors were over our heads, more hiking in the cold, in the wind, in the storms and still the biggest smile on my face. At some point we made it to the top, out of breath, stopped, looked around, breathed in, covered up (#blue tomato water bottle), drunk and had a bite…
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
Unskin, frozen fingers, put the two skis back into snowboarding mode, those bindings back to sideways… stop. Radio check with Laurent, the movie maker watching from another peak… #Swatch beanie, goggles, #BUFF neck warmer, #Level gloves #Sosh selfie dropping in five.
Finally my favourite moment, that first instance of speed, when you enter your line and discover your run before your eyes, soundless, timeless, such a well-deserved ride down, so well appreciated. It’s no longer a run, it’s a journey. Arrived at the bottom of the line still in the momentum, biggest shivers of excitement in my chest, look up, appreciate, satisfaction.
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
There is something so special about hiking a mountain before dropping in. Yes, it gives access to more terrain but it is much more than that… a sort of meditation even… more time to appreciate the environment, the mountains, the nature, the landscapes… a great balance with all the adrenaline one can get when riding down steep terrain… amplifying the feeling of accomplishment adding so much to the whole experience. It becomes all part of a journey, a day that will last in my thoughts… whispering to my ear at night and calling me back.
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
In the end, a lot of wind, unstable wind pack in higher altitudes, changing temperatures, bony mountain ridges, wind and snow storms, fast moving clouds, difficult visibility, cold, but then by magic it all stopped for a moment, a bit of calm, visibility, and there in between two layers of thick clouds… amazing powder!! POWSLASH heaven, endless mountain landscapes. Still, no human constructions, just my skier buddies, beautiful Andes, snow, wilderness and I.
Anne-Flore Marxer in Patagonia
And now the movie @RISE, it is beautiful, so fortunate I had a chance to be part of this project. The few shots I have in there will always remind me of that winter summer crush which helped me RISE from a ‘powder shredder’ into a passionate mountain soul. And such a poet!
HUGE THANKS TO MY SPONSORS WHO MAKE IT ALL POSSIBLE:
Swatch, SOSH, Blue Tomato, APO snowboards, BUFF, Level Gloves, Crans-Montana.
