Francois Montuori

Where are you currently located?
Lausanne, Swizerland

Hometown?
Annecy, France

What is your main sport?
Backcountry Skiing in winter
Hike & Fly in summer

Other key activities and hobbies? What you are doing when you have some down time?
Mountaineering, trail running, cycling. When I have some down time I am often planning the next adventure! I am a dreamer who turns his dreams in projects with time ! I also play violin.

Tell us about your background. A general overview for people on the site to get to know who you are and how you ended up where you are today.
I was born and grew up in Annecy, France. As a kid, I would spend my free time in the mountains or on the lake with my friends. I think we were pretty autonomous for our age; we had a lot of freedom, taking our bikes and leaving home for the day to hike, run, climb… I am so thankful to our parents who let us live it in that way ! During winter months I was at the ski-club every Wednesday afternoon, and the weekends I used to ski with family and friends. At this time, I also enjoyed a lot cross country skiing. In summer during my junior years I competed at high level on vertical kilometers: a pretty stupid discipline which consists in climbing 1000m of elevation in the shortest time and distance possible. Cycling was a big part of my training but in Haute-Savoie cycling in winter is really not the most enjoyable activity…That’s why I ended up to ski touring in 2015! My first experience was not really a success, I remember I suffered so much during the climb I could hardly ski during the downhill. But I was quickly addicted, and winter after winter my background led me to more alpine ski touring. Now for me a good ski touring day means an esthetic line, a new place to discover, friends with whom to share it! I think ski touring is a subtle blend of adventure, technicity and constant observation of the mountain environment, that’s why I love it so much. Annecy area is one the most famous region in the world for paragliding, I started the activity in the summer 2019 and became very quickly addicted. It is a real passion now and I worked hard to increase quite quickly my margins. This past summer I could climb Mont-Blanc and take off from its top, an amazing experience. Avoiding the descent by foot is a safety plus in mountaineering, especially in the last years where high temperatures cause rock collapsing at warm hours of the day. In the future I am looking forward to accomplishing nice para-alpinism combos.

Craziest adventure or experience so far?
Flying from Mont-Blanc summit with my friend Luka. The take-off was quite challenging for me but the flight was one the most incredible experience I had so far!
Bucket list or dream trip?
The bucket list would be too long! For now it seems very far, but flying from the highest peaks of the planet and use paragliding as a pretext to travel is something that makes me really dream. There are also incredible lines I would like to ski in Switzerland before global warming deletes them.
Why did you want to become a Haglöfs ambassador?
I am attached to the fact Haglofs does care about sustainability and environment issues. I believe we can all change how the things are done. Especially, textile companies have to innovate in order to evolve in the right direction, and that’s something Haglofs is fully conscious and not afraid about. Behind that, I really appreciate the high-level products. I am grateful having such a gear so I can fully focus on my actions during intense moments in the mountains.
Favorite Haglöfs gear?
Roc Spire Jacket outside, Pile hood once in the cabin!
A quote you live by?
‘Success all depends on the second letter.’