72 Facing the Mountain

Face à la montagne

Verbier |

Suisse

French

Behind the scenes

I wrote this text in one sitting during a stay in Verbier, Switzerland, facing the impressive peaks of the Alps. The majesty of the landscape naturally inspired me to shape it in a poetic form.

To me, high mountains can be fascinating, magnetic, or even unsettling, depending on the weather and the way we perceive them. They evoke a deep sense of humility, to the point that each peak can feel like a presence to which one might confide secrets or turn for guidance.

The illustration was created a few years later during a hike above the village of Les Gets in France, on the other side of the Franco-Swiss border, a place to which I feel particularly connected.

Echoes of the world

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh, a Romance language spoken in the canton of Graubünden in the east of the country. A single place can therefore have different names depending on the region and the language.

The famous peak known as the Cervin in French is called the Matterhorn in German and Monte Cervino in Italian.

This linguistic diversity is a key part of Swiss identity. Over time, its people have learned to make multiple languages and cultures coexist, developing a strong tradition of dialogue, listening, and compromise.

Perhaps this is also why their mountains seem to belong to several worlds at once.

Listen to an audio excerpt of the text