The two guides who died in the terrible avalanche that occurred this Sunday, April 9 in Contamines-Montjoie were two local children, members of the Saint-Gervais guide company. The youngest, Clément Jacquemoud, was born in 1984 and lived in Contamines-Montjoie, where he grew up. He in turn had founded a home there and was the father of two young children.
“A wonderful dad, very attentive, recalls Élise Mollard, deputy mayor of Les Contamines, who had known him since childhood. He had planned to participate in the Easter race organized for the children of the village. We could trust him. Like most kids in the Alps, Clément cut his teeth at the village ski club, on the slopes of Les Contamines, where his father officiates as groomer and from whom he takes the nickname “Billousse”.
VIDEO. An avalanche leaves at least 5 dead and several injured in Haute-Savoie
“Being young, I practiced alpine skiing and ski jumping in competition, then I quickly practiced ski touring, climbing and mountaineering”, he wrote on a site selling guide days. . “I practiced my passion for the mountains in parallel with my other jobs (carpenter, first-aid tracker, groomer). I started my mountain guide training in 2008 and since then I have practiced this profession, especially on Mont Blanc, a summit that fascinates me. »
“Very careful, very thoughtful” in the mountains
In 2010, he brilliantly obtained his mountain guide diploma. His clients salute a passionate professional, jovial and quick to share his knowledge of the mountains. “Thank you a thousand times Clément for your experience and your sympathy”, writes for example Romuald, whom he had accompanied to Mont Blanc. Yoann, a childhood friend with whom he had done the legendary Pierra Menta ski race, remembers someone “very careful, very thoughtful” in the mountains.
Among the last people to have rubbed shoulders with him, Christine, guardian of the Conscrits refuge where he slept the day before his death, remembers the generosity of this guide: “He regularly went to the refuge, did not hesitate to give a hand, to help with the dishes. He made everyone smile. The day before the avalanche, I will keep the memory of a very nice evening, spent laughing and reinventing the world in the kitchen of the refuge, with his other colleagues. »
Among them, the other deceased guide. His name was Laurent Rigaud and he lived in Saint-Gervais, a little further down the valley. He was 49 years old.