Marcel Remy, born February 6, 1923 in Gruyère and died July 11, 2022, was a Swiss amateur mountaineer, known for his impressive climbing achievements.
Son of Bertha and François Remy, Marcel was born on February 6, 1923. His father was a farmer and a lumberjack before becoming a railway worker. He spent his childhood near the Cases du MOB station where he met wealthy tourists who offered him oranges, fruit, tea and even skis one day. This is where he learned to ski, all alone without a teacher. On the 1st of 1942, a tragedy occurs when he is going to clear the snow with his railwayman father in the middle of the night. An avalanche carries the Rémy house to Les Cases with his mother Bertha Marie (née Jordan) and his 16-year-old little sister Yolande. They will both die in Montreux hospital. His little brother Roland, on the other hand, survived while he was in bed, protected by a post that split the mass of snow in two. Marcel Remy began working very young in the agricultural sector, and married in 1950. He became a railway employee at the CFF, before retiring. He lived in the barrier house at Bossière station.
He has done many races in the Vaudois and Friborg Alps, as well as classics such as the Matterhorn, the Grand Combin or Mont Blanc by the three mountains. Having become passionate, he introduced many people to this practice. His two sons, Claude and Yves Remy, will become high-level climbers, openers of many sporting routes (Switzerland, Presles, Kalymnos).
In 2017, aged 94, he climbed the Miroir de l'Argentine (14 pitches, 5b/5c, rated "difficult"), a 450-meter-high cliff in the Vaudois Alps, accompanied by his two sons. . He will be descended by paraglider.
Despite medical operations and two hip prostheses, Marcel Remy trains almost daily in the climbing gym. At the age of 94, he made lead ascents up to 5c indoors and on cliffs and still practiced downhill skiing and cross-country skiing. In 2019, he chained Les guêpes (5c, Saint-Loup). In 2022, aged 99, he leads a 16-meter indoor route rated 4c.
He died at home in his sleep on the night of July 10-11, 2022. He was 99 years old.
