In this article, we bring you the first of a series of profiles produced within the framework of our partnership with the Les Guides de Verbier office. To find out more, read our previous article: Our partnership with Les Guides de Verbier
Feet in his boots, hands in the trees
Nothing predestined this little boy to one day become a mountain rescue guide. Born into a family of small farmers in the village of Vollèges, Pierre-Yves, known as Pyt, was nevertheless quite a daredevil character. While other children his age played in sandpits or on swings, he was already climbing trees and hanging out in the forests around the mountain pastures…. The call of nature and the great outdoors already resonated in him…
His father said that even when he was little he sought out danger. He left his mark. His entourage remembers his first little trip, where he headed off alone from Vollèges on his tricycle to Sembrancher on the cantonal road. A sense of adventure was already part of his genetic heritage and would never leave him.
Valais trails stretching out into infinity
Later it was his cousin, Didier Taramarcaz, who introduced him to climbing. The mountain attracts attention and now aroused the admiration of this passionate young man. Gently, his path took him to the high peaks of the region with friends who were preparing their aspiring guide courses. Among them, the guides François Farquet, Jean-Yves Michellod, Raoul Crettenand, Lionel May…today all active or passive members of the Les Guides de Verbier office.
The mountains, a unique workplace
With his military service as an accomplished high mountain grenadier, the idea was sown within him to become a mountain guide. His goal: to work in the mountains, but what motivated him above all was to work in the rescue industry.
The mountains, a school for life
Pierres-Yves completed his training at the police academy in Geneva. It was a difficult, demanding but fascinating job. The “blue lights experience”, as he calls it, was a very intense human adventure in which he matured. But the call of the mountains intensified and the passion was not enough: to refine his knowledge and be ready, before obtaining his mountain guide diploma, he first entered the professional mountain environment via the ski lifts where he worked as a patroller on the ski slopes of Verbier.
As great as the mountain is, the powerful attraction of its contemplation and its ascents, it reminds us that there is also suffering, injury and death, and for Pierres-Yves, helping others has always been a vocation.
The mountain, between fear, dread, admiration and respect
Pierre-Yves puts courage and energy in everything he does. He is not afraid to add a reasoned audacity to it. He enters the great Air-Glaciers rescue centre as a professional rescue guide. The mountain begins to be associated with tragedies for him. Thanks to his experience in the police, he manages all human aspects with particular attention and in a very empathetic manner. During a rescue, from the first phone call, to getting into the helicopter, arriving at the scene of the rescue, from the care of the victim to that of the family, he makes it a point of honour to manage all stages in a very meticulous and perfectionist manner.
Today, after more than 15 years in the rescue industry, with many perilous missions to his credit, he often questions his interventions for the best possible result.
Over the years, the spectacular, harsh and demanding side of his activity invites him to accomplish more calming activities. But at this mountain that strikes every day before his eyes, he is ready to forgive everything to continue to caress its sides and explore its secrets. Thus, this lover of the great alpine spaces always fulfils himself by practising the very essence of his profession: taking clients to the summits by transmitting the magic, the wonder and the love of the mountain while ensuring their safety.
While waiting to discover these emblematic figures of mountaineering, you can already discover some beautiful mountain scenes thanks to the photos posted on #bessonimmobilier via our social networks Facebook and Instagram @lesguidesdeverbier and @verbierbessonimmobilier.
At Besson Immobilier, we love to tell you stories about life and short trips in our region! Discover even more articles, hiking ideas, new and unusual insights and information on the Verbier and Val de Bagnes region in our Besson mag. That way, you can plan your trip to our beautiful region with greater peace of mind.