Coline Paquereau

Growing up, I moved every year due to my parents’ jobs. After school, I started my studies on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, then went to Morocco for two more years to study Physiotherapy. I also went to New Zealand for a year and traveled around the country in a van, spending time hiking and climbing.

After New Zealand, I came back to France and managed climbing ropes for airy construction jobs, but I knew it wasn’t how I wanted to live in the mountains. So I got a job working as a caretaker at a mountain hut. In the end, I became a Mountain Leader and now I feel that every day I share with guests is a gift!

When I’m not running in the mountains, I’m flying over them! I really enjoy paragliding and I’m training to become a paragliding instructor.

As well as running, I love to go rock climbing, mountaineering and paragliding. I also spend time reading and traveling, as I love to discover new places.

When I was a teen, I didn’t take part in any physical education because I was overweight and I had asthma… Life is really surprising! I’d like to see my PE teacher today and tell him to give hope and confidence to all those kids who may be in the same situation.

I love the climb up to the Aiguille de Varan, which towers above the Vallée D’Arve, which is the valley below Chamonix on the way to Geneva. It is 2000m of climbing up to the 2,554m high summit, if you start in the bottom of the valley. From Lac Passy, 30 minutes down the valley from Chamonix, you first climb up through the small village of Bay, and then into forest. A thousand meters of elevation gain brings you to open grassy slopes where ibex live. The climb ends with a rocky scramble to the summit… All of this is the view I see through my window at home!