There is a little Moana side to her.
Normal, at 36, Armelle Courtois is not only a great kitesurfing champion, she also has a taste for adventure in her blood.
Between the summer of 2020 and October 2021, the resident of Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne) set herself a somewhat crazy challenge: to set the world record for kitesurfing on the highest lakes. of the planet.
After Mont-Blanc in August 2020, she set off to conquer the Andes in August 2021 and then the Himalayas two months later.
Journeys that have marked the vice-world kite speed champion forever.
“I especially took a slap during these expeditions, says the Seine-et-Marnaise.
I was able to see how terrible the phenomenon of melting ice is.
I wanted to share this emotion with as many people as possible.
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Armelle Courtois named her project Riding To Explore.
A project that has now taken on another dimension: “With my partner, Martin Thomas, fifth at the Tokyo Olympics in canoe slalom, we wanted to leave a trace of these adventures.
A film has been made and will be released in the fall.
We also teach children.
We also plan to make books out of it.
In short, Riding To Explore is only in its infancy.
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Always in this spirit, with Martin Thomas, she organizes, this Thursday and Friday, two days of awareness of the sea of ice in Chamonix (Haute-Savoie).
"We invited ten top athletes to show the consequences of global warming, and all that we are losing," she says.
Kitesurfing at an altitude of over 5,000 meters
If Armelle Courtois is so concerned with ecology “but without playing the guilt card, but that of collective and civic awareness”, she owes it to her atypical career.
After growing up in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), the young girl leaves with her teacher mother, on the other side of the planet.
“I lived from 7 to 11 years in French Polynesia, remembers Armelle Courtois.
My mom had always dreamed of being able to teach there.
I had four wonderful years.
We were on the island of Rurutu.
It was a very small pebble, 10 km long and 3 km wide, resting on the Tropic of Capricorn.
At school, we developed much more autonomy than in mainland France.
We were left to learn on our own.
And above all, we were in constant contact with nature.
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Back in mainland France, the teenager, passionate about sport, continues horse riding, a sport she started at the age of 3.
“I love animals and naturally I got into horse riding.
I practiced horse riding in eventing for 30 years, before switching to kitesurfing,” she explains.
We are then in 2008 and Armelle Courtois discovers this discipline which is both new and demanding.
“Kitesurfing takes a lot of work,” she says.
Everything should be square.
The slightest mistake can quickly put you in danger.
In 2018, Armelle Courtois became vice-world kite speed champion.
Read alsoIn Le Havre, kitesurfing at a good school
With the health crisis, kitesurfing competitions stop.
This is where the Riding To Explore project matured.
“It all started with the trip to Mont-Blanc.
We left with bags that weighed 25 kg on our backs.
It took four hours of walking to reach the highest lake.
We spent a week there with two, three day sessions kitesurfing and the rest of the time recovering.
The expedition virus is taking shape.
After the Alps, Armelle Courtois and Martin Thomas are organizing a more ambitious outing on the side of the Andes cordillera.
“We went on an expedition for three weeks with a team of ten people,” she says.
We managed to reach a lake located at 5,050 meters above sea level.
It was not easy with the lack of oxygen to kitesurf but we achieved this feat.
It was physically difficult.
It is only after descending that we measure the extent of the performance.
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Data communicated to glaciologists
Two months later, after spending hours studying the terrain with Google Earth, the Francilienne is heading for Asia this time.
“We were aiming for a lake at an altitude of 5,300 meters in the Himalayas, but we had to settle for another at 4,900 meters.
We couldn't go higher because we were surprised by the premature arrival of winter.
Within hours, the lake froze over.
We waited three days but we couldn't stay longer, otherwise we would have put ourselves in physical danger.
This does not prevent her from experiencing magical and incredible moments.
"There was a little Tintin side to Tibet," she smiles.
At one point we came face to face with a snow leopard with her two cubs.
I will never forget those moments.
The panther was right next to it.
She seemed to find it normal to see us there.
It was amazing.
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From these three outings, the Riding To Explore expedition brought back a lot of data that they communicate to glaciologists: “This is where we see that it goes beyond the framework of sport.
We have made our contribution to better discover life at such high altitudes.
Our findings may be able to advance science.
And that, we are very proud of.
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Today, the athlete lives in harmony with her convictions.
“I finally found my way.
Before, I worked in real estate alongside my kitesurfing career.
But since then, I gave up to set up a structure around Riding To Explore, which occupies my daily life today, she admits.
We have plenty of new projects that still need to be refined.
But we want to bring our little stone to the building and help raise awareness of the climate emergency…”