Mercantour: France’s undiscovered Alpes-Maritimes
By Liz Lord

No strangers to Pàramo gear, we were delighted when the marketing team accepted our invitation to come to the Mercantour for a photo shoot.  The Mercantour, France’s largest and most recently created National Park, is just a short drive away from the French Riviera.

And no idle boast was it that we could offer a wide spectrum of backdrops, from the Mediterranean to the 3000m mountains. We were only a tad concerned when warmer weather was threatening to melt away the backdrop of our winter shots.

The first clear spring morning saw us picking our way to the Via Ferrata at La Colmiane, where photographer Dave Willis coaxed the willing and the not so willing into Pàramo garments and onto the ropes and rungs. A secure way for land lubbers to get some exposure, but surely not everybody’s cup of tea!

Moving out of the sun and into the white stuff after a tasty lunch, snow shoes were donned and much hilarity had by all as feet sank into the spring snow. The day was rounded off well with a touch of culture at a concert in Saint-Martin Vésubie’s church.

After playing at horse rustlers the following morning for a few shots, we headed off to enjoy some serious scrambling, the boys sporting the Opal Fruit colours of Pàramo’s Fuera smocks.