The Pianist of the Summits

“Philippe calls himself the Pianist of the Summits (Pianiste des Cimes). He has made it his life’s mission to play his keyboard on the mountain tops.”

It was the early afternoon of a largely uneventful day at Ama Dablam base camp. The mess tent was half empty with those of us inside really only there to take advantage of the solar electricity ports while the sun was still up. For everyone else it was either siesta or they were somewhere between us and the 6812 meter summit. I had just come down from spending a night at camp 1, which now put me in that special category of climber “ready for his window”.

It was at some point that afternoon when a new gentleman popped his head through the tent door. “Namaste” he said to all of us only to solicit halfhearted responses and a partial glance away from the phone screens. This was, after all, electricity time and the new guy would need to get with the program. He bobbed his head around a bit before disappearing pretty much the same way he appeared. I remember thinking maybe the poor guy had the wrong tent. Guess we wouldn’t be seeing him again. Moments later he re-emerged, this time, with a giant keyboard under his arm. Yes, you read that right. This guy was up at Ama Dablam base camp with a keyboard, which he switched on and then proceeded to play 4 back to back songs.

Somewhere between “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” and “Imagine” all of us, every single one of us, even the ones who’d never spoken a word for days on end, were all singing. That moment at Ama Dablam base camp was the start of something very special for Life Happens Outdoors although I’d hardly recognized it at the time.

“Philippe is an embodiment of passion. Passion for music. Passion for mountains. Passion for life.”

You see, for us it isn’t just about being guided or taught in the mountain. There are 1000s of perfectly capable guides who can do a job. For us as a community, it is about sharing passion. That’s why I started it and that’s why I insist on spending as little time as possible on my laptop and as much time as possible up in the hills sharing in on the experience. Philippe is an embodiment of passion. Passion for music. Passion for mountains. Passion for life. That evening he broke the ice literally and figuratively. Strangers became family in an instant and I’ve maintained a strong connection with everyone who sang with us that afternoon. I even went on to share my summit push with one of them and felt a kinship towards him that I could barely understand.

Philippe calls himself the Pianist of the Summits (Pianiste des Cimes). He has made it his life’s mission to play his keyboard on the mountain tops. A few days after I returned to Kathamndu I saw that he did indeed reach the top of Ama Dablam with his keyboard. Philippe is also an IFMGA mountain guide and, you guessed it, he now works as one of our primary guides in the Alps. This season he led on two of our Mont Blanc Summit expeditions. He even brought his piano, although this time it was only to dinner. Philippe and I will be climbing Choy Oyo together this coming spring in the hopes that he will once again play his music on the summit and break the ice for all those who are seeking passion and beauty in the hills.