- On July 14, Samuel Ferber and Luc Méheux, amputated at the level of the tibia, managed to climb Mont-Blanc.
- How did the idea come to them? It all started with their prosthetist.
- "It was a pride, I dropped a small tear," admits Samuel Ferber, who hopes that it will now give the idea to other people to try their luck. Despite a possible handicap.
"A few small aches" here, a "leg contracture" there ... Three days after their ascent of Mont-Blanc, Samuel Ferber and Luc Méheux have almost completely recovered. Their exploit of July 14, they now have only in mind. "With lots of beautiful memories in mind," notes the first named, amputated at the level of the right tibia five years ago, following a motorcycle accident.
"Me, it was after a gardening accident in the vines six years ago", explains the second, 40 years old, who also benefits from a prosthesis. It is this system that brought them together in the Alps. Or rather an employee of their joint prosthetist, based in Horbourg-Wihr in Alsace, Antony Schubnel. "He had relations with guides from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and they had the project to bring up amputees," recalls Luc Méheux. “They just had to find people who had the mental and the sufficient body. That's how we got to know each other. "
Sportsmen at heart, the two still had the right to eight months of training, with outings "once or twice a week in the Vosges and in Switzerland". So until the big jump, started on July 13 with a climb to the Tête Rousse refuge, at 3,167 meters above sea level. "We slept there and we left at 4 am", continues Luc Méheux, who was part of a group of 13, including three people from the famous orthomedical practice Welter, two doctors and five mountain guides.
"I felt like I was at the end of my life"
On the so-called “normal” route to Mont-Blanc, the team then joined the Goûter refuge, at 3.835 meters. Before a very complicated final. “I felt like I was at the end of my life. Lifting one leg and then the other was very complicated, ”continues the engineer in the design office in the Belfort region. "The last few hundred meters were difficult, there were lots of small bumps and we thought we would never get there," adds Samuel Ferber, 35, an electrician in the Colmar region.
The culmination finally arrived after seven hours of effort. At around 11 a.m. the group reached the summit at 4,810 meters. “It was a magic moment. The view was clear with a small sea of clouds on the left and on the right ”, continues Luc Méheux. "It was a source of pride, I dropped a little tear," added his adventure companion, before insisting on the symbol that their climb represents. “I have read that we have tailor-made prostheses but that is not true. I had the same as that on a daily basis. I had just bought mountain equipment and I had trained… So much the better if it can show other people that it is possible to climb Mont-Blanc with an amputation. "
"The stump has quite swollen"
Did they suffer from their handicap during the effort? "Especially during the descent," replies the Belfortain. “During the ascent, the prosthesis sometimes presses on the front, sometimes on the back of the stump, it is not very painful. But when we started from the top, the stump was quite swollen and I had to stop several times to add layers and avoid any play with the prosthesis. Another concern noted by Samuel Ferber, "we often had to compensate because since we don't have an ankle, we started more easily forward. But it was. "
The two have since "slept very well" and are slowly thinking about a next challenge. “Benjamin Tomé [also an amputee] was to come with us to Mont-Blanc but was injured in the last training. The idea is to take him to a less complicated summit at 4,000 meters, so why not accompany him, ”concludes Luc Méheux.
Trip
Discover Mont Blanc, to the top of the Alps by the Royal Way
Sport
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- Society
- Franche-Comté
- Handicap
- Mountain
- Colmar