Lessons from Pierre Mazeaud, the first Frenchman to reach the summit of Everest in 1978

After five months of silence and speculation about his fate, videographer and YouTuber Inoxtag shared the highly anticipated story of his adventure on his YouTube channel this Saturday. At 22, the videographer with 8 million subscribers climbed Everest after a year of training. In 1978, former minister and ex-MP Pierre Mazeaud was 49 years old and had decades of mountaineering experience when he became the first Frenchman to plant the tricolor flag at the summit of Everest.

But age and experience are not all that distinguish the two men. In fifty years, much has changed in the most legendary of Himalayan climbs.

The World met Pierre Mazeaud and was able to access the audiovisual archives of the 1978 expedition. Nestled under the roofs of the Saint-Paul district in Paris, his small apartment is full of memories, like an invitation to tell a story. At 95 years old, his memory still vivid, the former mountaineer recounts his historic journey.

Among the sources of this video:

• Everest 78 or the French on the roof of the worldChristian Brincourt and Jean-Claude Odin (1978)
• Everest 78Pierre Mazeaud
• Everest at any costJean Afanassieff (1999)
• KAIZEN: 1 year to climb Everest! @Inoxtag (2024)