2150 km on the Via Alpina: Zoé Lemaitre’s solo feminist adventure
In this podcast episode, I welcome Zoé Lemaitre, who travelled the Via Alpina solo to meet women mountain professionals and make a documentary.
Watch the video interview
Listen to the podcast
Episode summary
At the age of 26, Zoé Lemaitre crossed the Alps on foot, from Slovenia to Monaco, following the Via Alpina.
Four months of solo walking, over 2000 kilometers covered, and one objective: to meet women mountain professionals and give them a voice through a documentary. A journey of effort, commitment and introspection.
A project of adventure and encounters
Theidea for this crossing was born while Zoé was working in Venice. ” One day, I said to myself: I’d like to walk home,” she says.
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What was meant to be a joke has become a project with a double dimension: total immersion in nature, and a spotlight on mountain women who are too rarely seen in the media.
With little experience of solo trekking – four days on her own before setting off – she embarked on the Via Alpina, which she adapted to her current mood.
“I used to look at the map in the morning without knowing where I was going to sleep at night,” she explains. It wasn’t long before the weather, the snow or simply intuition led her to chart her own course.
Walking alone, becoming independent
Setting off without a rigid plan, Zoé learned to live by the rhythm of the sun, without alarm clocks or calendars. Her days are organized around walking, bivouacking and writing.
“I couldn’t stand being alone before I left. Here, it was a chosen solitude.”
As the weeks go by, this experience becomes a veritable school of freedom. She learns to trust her instincts, to deal with the unexpected, and discovers the satisfaction of relying solely on herself.
The conditions are anything but idyllic: snow in the middle of summer, storms, bivouac bans, isolated cabins. But Zoé has a simple philosophy: live for the moment. “I never said to myself that I wanted to stop.
Landscapes and memorable encounters
Throughout her walk, Zoé crosses the eight countries of the Alpine arc: Slovenia, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, France… She sleeps in tents, in huts, and sometimes in refuges when the weather dictates.
Some unexpected encounters become key moments: a family who welcomes him in the middle of a storm, shepherdesses who open their doors to him, mountain women ready to tell him about their journey.
“The more I opened myself up to life, the more constructive encounters I had.”
Giving a voice to mountain women
Her journey gave rise to a documentary called Via Alpina, in the footsteps of the Pioneers, born of her desire to make visible these women who live and work in the mountains. She filmed alone, often carrying heavy equipment.
Among her contacts:
- a Slovenian refuge keeper,
- a Swiss shepherdess,
- Marjorie, climbing instructor in Monaco,
- Elisabeth Gerritsen, freeride world champion,
- Federica Mingolla, Italian mountain guide,
- and Alice Koldefy, PGHM trainer.
Some encounters take place on the road, others after the journey. Some women are initially reluctant to testify, doubting their legitimacy.
” I had to put them at ease. A lot of them would say to me, “I’m not good enough.” ”
Others, on the contrary, welcome the camera with enthusiasm.
A committed and inspiring film
His self-produced documentary will be screened in several media libraries in Isère as part of Documentary Month, before being selected for festivals.
The film looks at the place of women in the mountain professions, their struggles, their doubts, but also their passion and their relationship with nature.
For Zoé, it’s a way of continuing to reflect on women’s legitimacy and freedom:
“No one will give you legitimacy. If you don’t give it to yourself, you won’t do anything.”
A transformative adventure
This crossing changed his approach to solitude and freedom.
“I realized that anything is possible, as long as you think outside the box,” she says.
Today, Zoé is working on the distribution of her film and is planning new adventures, always between mountains and human encounters.
A message for sportswomen
She concludes with a word of encouragement to the audience: “Dare. Trust yourself. And surround yourself with the right people: certain encounters can change a life.”
Links
- Follow Zoé: https://www.instagram.com/zoe.lmtre
- Documentary: Via Alpina, in the footsteps of the Pioneers