Team Simond athletes

Our technical partners

Simond works in close collaboration with a team of testing partners; professionals in mountaineering and climbing, who bring their experience from the rockface and very high standards for the daily use of safety equipment. ENSA trainer guides handle the training of future guides, climbing instructors who supervise young climbers (aged 4 and over), and young guides looking for adventure in the Himalayas or in the Andean Cordillera. The SIMOND Team is rich in different profiles, progressing in a variety of environments, but all driven by the same passion for climbing or mountaineering.

This bond between climbers and Simond had always led to innovative products that provide exponential increases in ease of use, comfort and performance.

Our technical partners

Simond works in close collaboration with a team of testing partners; professionals in mountaineering and climbing, who bring their experience from the rockface and very high standards for the daily use of safety equipment. ENSA trainer guides handle the training of future guides, climbing instructors who supervise young climbers (aged 4 and over), and young guides looking for adventure in the Himalayas or in the Andean Cordillera. The SIMOND Team is rich in different profiles, progressing in a variety of environments, but all driven by the same passion for climbing or mountaineering.

This bond between climbers and Simond had always led to innovative products that provide exponential increases in ease of use, comfort and performance.

Benjamin Guigonnet

Piolet d'or 2018

For the first ascent of the Southern side of Nuptse - Himalaya, NEPAL 7,742m, 2200 m, WI6, M5+; with the “gang des Moustaches” (moustache gang).
Trainer for the French National Excellence in Mountaineering Group (GEAN)of the FFCAM (Federation of Alpine and Mountaineering Clubs)

Justyne Morlain

The team Instagrammer

"Everyone has their shepherd, everyone has their Everest, keep your eye on the pot…". Our bubbly partner, mountaineer and steeplejack Justyne has plenty of wise sayings up her sleeve.

Thibault Lair

The team member from the Pyrenees

The climber from the Pyrenees who completes 9a routes one after the other: "To the Moon", "Soul surfer", "My Little Princess", "La Hija de la Luna", "La minute de rési", "Nilsbru"

Meije Lerondel

The youngest on the team

The youngest recruit, Meije, is a member of the French national team.
Her accolades:
2nd place at the 2022 and 2021
Youth World Championships in Climbing and Bouldering

Camille Marot

GEAN Coach

Previously a member of the French National Excellence in Mountaineering Group (GEAN) of the FFCAM
GEAN coach
My route: free-climbing the "Way of the Fish" (18 pitches, ED+) at Marmolada - Dolomites ITALY

Mathieu Detrie

Trainer at ENSA

Trainer for the French National Excellence in Mountaineering Group (GEAN) of the FFCAM
My route: “Peine plancher” 6700 m - ED, 1100 m, M6, W16 - North-East Face of the Pandra NEPAL: with Benjamin Vedrines and Pierre Labbre

Mickaël and Bassa Mawem

Two entrepreneurial brothers

Both members of France's national climbing team, when the Mawem brothers aren't training, they're managing their climbing centre in Colmar, along with 101 other projects!
Mickaël's preferred discipline is bouldering, but he's versatile and not too shabby in all three disciplines that compose the combined category. As for Bassa, he established the first speed climbing record at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, with a time of just 5.45 s.

Louison Burtin

5th place in the European bouldering championships

Our local youth athlete whose success has nothing to do with her age: 5th in the European bouldering championship and 7th at the European lead climbing cup at Saint-Pierre in Faucigny in 2019.
Her goal: Paris 2024!

Octave Garbolino

Former member of the GEAN

High-Altitude Mountain Guide in the Écrins.
My spots: The Écrins, of course! Fosslimonster in Norway for its frozen waterfall and Indian Creek for crack climbing.

Antoine Bletton

Former member of the high-altitude military group

High-altitude guide
"Jack of all trades but master of none, I try to be versatile in my mountaineering: steep incline, 8000 m in alpine style, 8b on the rockface and 8a in bouldering, grade 7 in ice climbing, M9 in mixed"

Marion Thomas

French ice climbing team

Member of the senior French frozen waterfall climbing team since 2016 in two disciplines: lead climbing (my favourite) and speed climbing.
5th worldwide and 2nd in Europe in the general lead climbing ranking / 6th Worldwide and 3rd in speed climbing at the Denver World Cup 2019-2020

Tanguy Topin

Climbing instructor

Silver medallist at the French lead climbing championship in 2017, trainer at the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes centre for promising young climbers,
specialist in sporting coordination and optimising sporting performance
My spot: Bionassay (Haute-Savoie), that’s where I climbed my first 8c!

Arthur Guinet

A promising cliff climbing talent

alias: “Vertaco the extreme climber”
Certified climbing trainer at Mineral Spirit, promising rock climbing talent ("Super finale", "La prophétie des grenouilles”, "Condé de choc", "Der Heilige Graal",etc.) but he prefers to climb at Vercors!

Elsa Ponzo

Member of the French national climbing excellence group

Certified climbing instructor with high-level sporting experience (European standard in lead climbing and international in bouldering), I’m now thriving outside of competing and in teaching.
My route: Dame Cookie at Verdon (8a+ max).

Anthony Richier

Manager of the climbing division of the Chamonix Compagnie des Guides

A climber who can't stay still: Qualified National Climbing Instructor, gym coach, route-setter, ex-competitor on the French team for lead climbing when he was young…

Annabelle Bouchardon

Climbing instructor

DE instructor, member of the French Groupe Excellence Alpinisme National, and a full-time chocolate-lover!
One of her most remarkable adventures: The Directissime des Potes on the northern face of La Meije!

Benoit Peyronnard

Former member of the French mountaineering high-performance group

High-altitude mountain guide and paragliding instructor, a mountain addict from an early age.
My top conquests: "Ali Baba" (250 m, 8a+max, 7b obl, E2F1, III) & "Les 40 voleurs"(330 m 8a+max, 7b obl, E3 F2 II+) at La Paroi Dérobée - (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)

Christophe Dat

High-altitude guide

High-altitude guide at the Chamonix company, always ready to open up secret bouldering spots and develop new innovations!

Fabien Ibarra

Guide & La Chamoniarde instructor

High altitude guide, trainer for La Chamoniarde (off-piste skiing, icy terrain, and mountaineering safety), provider of shared mountaineering experiences for over 25 years in collaboration with the association"He is also involved in rescuing" people in difficulty on the mountain!

Lionel Pernollet

High-altitude guide

High-altitude guide for the Chamonix guide company, like my grandfather and great-grandfather.
I work all over, from Mont Blanc to the big walls at Yosemite. But my favourite spot is still the Grand Capucin and its beautiful granite cracks.

Nicolas Bezard

Instructor at the French national skiing & mountaineering training centre (cneas)

As a high-altitude guide, an instructor at the French National Ski and Mountaineering Centre (CNEAS) and the previous product manager, who better than Nicolas to co-design the most demanding products on the mountain?

Romain Wagner

CRS mountain rescue first-aider

High-altitude guide and CRS mountain rescue first aider "competent in the most punishing climbing endeavours"
My routes: No Siesta (1200 m, ED, M7/A1/90°) and la Gousseault (1200 m, ED2/5c/A1/85°) in the Grandes Jorasses in less than a month.

Trainers of the French
national Ski-Mountaineering School

Our equipment is tested by the most stringent climbers at the rockface:
trainers at ENSA - the French National Skiing and Mountaineering School designed to prepare
the next generations of high-altitude guides.
Pierre Gourdin - Elodie Lecompte - Alexis Mallon - Fred Valet - Alain Ghersen - Eric Magnin - François Marsigny

Benjamin Guigonnet

Piolet d'or 2018

For the first ascent of the Southern side of Nuptse - Himalaya, NEPAL 7,742m, 2200m, WI6, M5+; with the “gang des Moustaches” (moustache gang).
Trainer for the French National Excellence in Mountaineering Group (GEAN)of the FFCAM (Federation of Alpine and Mountaineering Clubs)

Justyne Morlain

L'instagrameuse du team

"A chacun son berger, à chacun son Everest, suivez la casserole..." telle est la devise de Justyne, notre pétillante partenaire, alpiniste et cordiste.

Thibault Lair

The team member from the Pyrenees

The climber from the Pyrenees who completes 9a routes one after the other: "To the Moon", "Soul surfer", "My Little Princess", "La Hija de la Luna", "La minute de rési", "Nilsbru"

Meije Lerondel

La plus jeune du team

La plus jeune recrue, Meije est membre de l'équipe de France.
Son palmarès:
Vice championne du monde jeune de difficulté 2022
Double-vice championne du monde jeune de difficulté et de bloc en 2021

Camille Marot

GEAN Coach

Previously a member of the French National Excellence in Mountaineering Group (GEAN) of the FFCAM
GEAN coach
My route: free-climbing the "Way of the Fish" (18 pitches, ED+) at Marmolada - Dolomites ITALY

Mathieu Detrie

Trainer at ENSA

Trainer for the French National Excellence in Mountaineering Group (GEAN) of the FFCAM
My route: “Peine plancher” 6700m - ED, 1100m, M6, W16 - North-East Face of the Pandra NEPAL: with Benjamin Vedrines and Pierre Labbre

Mickaël et Bassa Mawem

Les deux frères entrepreneurs

Tous deux membres de l'équipe de France d'escalade, quand les frères Mawem ne s'entrainent pas ils gèrent leur salle d'escalade à Colmar et 1000 autres projets !
La discipline de prédilection de Mickaël est le bloc, mais il est polyvalent et se débrouille bien dans les trois épreuves qui composent le combiné. Bassa quant à lui a établi le tout premier record d’escalade de vitesse aux Jeux olympiques de Tokyo en 2021 en 5,45 s.

Louison Burtin

5th place in the European bouldering championships

Our local youth athlete whose success has nothing to do with her age: Fifth in the European bouldering championship and seventh at the European lead climbing cup at Saint-Pierre in Faucigny in 2019.
Her goal: Paris 2024!

Octave Garbolino

Former member of the GEAN

High-Altitude Mountain Guide in the Écrins.
My spots: The Écrins, of course! Fosslimonster in Norway for its frozen waterfall and Indian Creek for crack climbing.

Antoine Bletton

Former member of the high-altitude military group

High-altitude guide
"Jack of all trades but master of none, I try to be versatile in my mountaineering: steep incline, 8000m in alpine style, 8b on the rockface and 8a in bouldering, grade 7 in ice climbing, M9 in mixed"

Marion Thomas

French ice climbing team

Member of the senior French frozen waterfall climbing team since 2016 in two disciplines: lead climbing (my favourite) and speed climbing.
fifth worldwide and second in Europe in the general lead climbing ranking / 6e Worldwide and third in speed climbing at the Denver World Cup 2019-2020

Tanguy Topin

Climbing instructor

Silver medallist at the French lead climbing championship in 2017, trainer at the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes centre for promising young climbers,
specialist in sporting coordination and optimising sporting performance
My spot: Bionassay (Haute-Savoie), that’s where I climbed my first 8c!

Arthur Guinet

A promising rock climbing talent

alias: “Vertaco the extreme climber”
Certified climbing trainer at Mineral Spirit, promising rock climbing talent ("Super finale", "La prophétie des grenouilles”, "Condé de choc", "Der Heilige Graal",etc.) but he prefers to climb at Vercors!

Elsa Ponzo

Member of the French national climbing excellence group

Certified climbing instructor with high-level sporting experience (European standard in lead climbing and international in bouldering), I’m now thriving outside of competing and in teaching.
My route: Dame Cookie at Verdon (8a+ max).

Anthony Richier

Manager of the climbing division of the Chamonix Compagnie des Guides

A climber who can't stay still: Qualified National Climbing Instructor, gym coach, route-setter, ex-competitor on the French team for lead climbing when he was young…

Annabelle Bouchardon

Monitrice d'escalade

Monitrice DE, membre du Groupe Excellence Alpinisme National, et mangeuse de chocolat à plein temps.
Une de ses aventures les plus marquantes : la directissime des potes en face nord de la Meije !

Benoit Peyronnard

Former member of the French mountaineering high-performance group

High-altitude mountain guide and paragliding instructor, a mountain addict from an early age.
My top conquests: "Ali Baba" (250m, 8a+max, 7b obl, E2F1, III) & "Les 40 voleurs"(330m 8a+max, 7b obl, E3 F2 II+) at La Paroi Dérobée - (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)

Christophe Dat

High-altitude guide

High-altitude guide at the Chamonix company, always ready to open up secret bouldering spots and develop new innovations!

Fabien Ibarra

Guide & La Chamoniarde instructor

High altitude guide, trainer for La Chamoniarde (off-piste skiing, icy terrain, and mountaineering safety), provider of shared mountaineering experiences for over 25 years in collaboration with the association"He is also involved in rescuing" people in difficulty on the mountain!

Lionel Pernollet

High-altitude guide

High-altitude guide for the Chamonix guide company, like my grandfather and great-grandfather.
I work all over, from Mont Blanc to the big walls at Yosemite. But my favourite spot is still the Grand Capucin and its beautiful granite cracks.

Nicolas Bezard

Instructor at the French national skiing & mountaineering training centre (cneas)

As a high-altitude guide, an instructor at the French National Ski and Mountaineering Centre (CNEAS) and the previous product manager, who better than Nicolas to co-design the most demanding products on the mountain?

Romain Wagner

CRS mountain rescue first-aider

High-altitude guide and CRS mountain rescue first aider "competent in the most punishing climbing endeavours"
My routes: No Siesta (1200m, ED, M7/A1/90°) and la Gousseault (1200m, ED2/5c/A1/85°) in the Grandes Jorasses in less than a month.

Trainers of the French
national Ski-Mountaineering School

Our equipment is tested by the most stringent climbers at the rockface:
trainers at ENSA - the French National Skiing and Mountaineering School designed to prepare
the next generations of high-altitude guides.
Pierre Gourdin - Patrick Gamba - Alexis Mallon - Fred Valet - Alain Ghersen - Eric Magnin - François Marsigny