Passing through Paris on the eve of his departure, the 36-year-old sailor, an engineer by training, told AFP of his months of preparation for this challenge that he would be the first man to achieve.

"I've always loved being on the water and then it's become a job with competition and all that entails. In the mountains, I rediscover sensations identical to my first crossings of the Atlantic," he said.

Before the 2020/2021 Vendée Globe, a solo round the world race that he finished in 82 days, he already had this "double Everest" project to "highlight the association Overcoming cystic fibrosis", an incurable hereditary genetic disease, mainly affecting the respiratory tract.

"I go there to put myself in the same situation as patients whose respiratory capacities are impaired, even though I am aware that the disease is much more complex," says Sorel.

Training in the Alps

To complete his project, he will be accompanied by six people, including mountaineer Guillaume Vallot, with whom he has been preparing for several months in the Alps.

"In recent weeks, we have climbed 4 peaks of 4000 meters, including one at 4600. It's a fantastic experience. I gained ease in difficulties and my gestures begin to be mechanical, "says the Malouin who shot his first edges in Cancale (Ille-et-Vilaine).

He also enlisted the services of Yan Giezendanner, a renowned meteorologist based in Chamonix, for "the routing of the expedition". Because unlike his epics on the sea, where "he is no longer really afraid", he still has "a lot of apprehensions" before departure.

"Our weather systems really make it possible to anticipate dangerous areas on the water in advance. At altitude, I feel like it's much more unpredictable. And then, in case of danger, we can take refuge in the boat, while here it is the body that takes everything frontally, "according to him.

French skipper Maxime Sorel aboard his Imoca "V and B-Mayenne", on September 14, 2022 off Lorient © Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP/Archives

After a short stop in Kathmandu, he will head to Everest Base Camp for three weeks of acclimatization and prepare for the final ascent in early May.

"There is envy, emotion. I feel like before a Vendée Globe actually," he says enthusiastically. On his return, the sailor must find his monohull Imoca (V and B - Monbana - Mayenne) just released in Concarneau after a winter shipyard.

With this foiling boat, he finished 5th in the last Route du Rhum in his category. He recently announced that he is embarking Marseille sailor Christopher Pratt for the big offshore race of the year, the Transat Jaques Vabre in October. Then, it will be a question of embarking on the final preparations for a third "Everest", this time at sea, at the end of 2024.

© 2023 AFP