Edmond Denis, 1941-2021

Edmond Denis passed away on December 4, 2021 at age 90. He was part of a French expedition that premiered the south face of Aconcagua in Chile in 1954 and had suffered the loss of his toes as a result of frostbites contracted during that ascent. 

He also was among a group of climbers that were found hovering around the Hotel de Paris in Chamonix, purchased by Louis Janin in 1958, that place literally became a “refuge” for out-of-towners mountain "bums" and even some show-business celebrities. 

In 1960, Edmond met Jean Vuarnet following his Olympic victory in Squaw Valley, and since he was gravitating towards the documentary film industry, he arranged for a flick to be produced about Vuarnet’s gold medal. 

Together, they toured France to showcase their production and that’s when Jean Vuarnet suggested that Edmond Denis got involved with him in the development of the Avoriaz ski resort. 

Shortly thereafter Edmond moved to Morzine to join the local ski school and bought an old house there in 1963, in which lived until his death with his wife Kathy, a German speaking Swiss he had met in England while he was attending a language course there. 

In 1966, the Avoriaz ski resort was created an Edmond Denis became its ski school director. A great communicator with a gift of gab, he made a strong impression all the ski instructors like me, who didn’t have his speech skills, his urban upbringing and world experience. 

I started working at the Avoriaz ski school in 1969 and Edmond Denis impressed me with his iconoclastic behavior, his vision that consisted of peppering his young ski school staff with  members speaking foreign languages, a strong female contingent and even one black instructor! 

Later, our relationship took a turn for the worst as half of the school challenged Edmond’s leadership, which led to his leaving the ski school and working at the ENSA, the National Ski Instructor school in Chamonix. 

I saw him a few more times in recent years, as I was jogging by his home when I happened to visit my family. I always stopped and we shot the breeze for a while about skiing and life in general. When all is said and done, Edmond  left a mark on my personal life and my professional career that I will never forget...