[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”1px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ header_font=”|on|||” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ header_font_size_tablet=”” header_font_size_phone=”16px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_2_font_size_tablet=”” header_2_font_size_phone=”16px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.19.0″ custom_padding=”0px||12px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font_size=”16px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
\u00ab <\/em>I<\/span><\/span>f modern British adventure has a face, it looks a lot like Leo Houlding<\/em>“, reads the Leo Houlding website. The climber, mountaineer and adventurer is known for having climbed some of the world’s most technical routes. From Antarctica and Venezuela to Patagonia and the Gorges du Verdon, Leo Houlding also ventured – with Conrad Anker, in 2007 – in the footsteps of Mallory and Irvine on Everest, to find answers to their mysterious deaths.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, he specializes in family expeditions with his wife and two children. High-level stuff for the average person, but not for Houlding’s descendants! Interview by the fireplace in Banff, Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-1px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#000000″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ body_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”30″ use_background_color=”off” custom_margin=”||||false|false” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Two point Four [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”0|0px||0px|false|false” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font_size=”16px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Leo Houlding :<\/strong> This year, at the festival, I have my first book <\/span>Close to the edge<\/span><\/i>, a presentation about my work and my new film\u2019s world premiere : <\/span>Two Point Four.<\/span><\/i> It\u2019s a little different from my other films because it\u2019s a family adventure. I have two young children : Freya who was 9 years old and Jackson who was 5 at the time of the movie. We\u2019ve climbed a beautiful rock spire in Norway called <\/span>Stetind.<\/span><\/i> A beautiful 13-pitch 600 meters high wall, of 5.10. It was an amazing and challenging adventure!<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”1200px” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zoecharef_leohoulding-8841.jpg” title_text=”zoecharef_leohoulding-8841″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font=”Merriweather|900|||||||” text_font_size=”16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Leo Houlding, November 2023, Banff, Canada. \u00a9Zo\u00e9 Charef<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-1px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#000000″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ body_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”30″ use_background_color=”off” custom_margin=”||||false|false” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n What i like the most [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”0|0px||0px|false|false” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font_size=”16px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n L. H. :\u00a0<\/b>I still go on a lot of big expeditions, and I\u2019ve pushed more and more into expeditions, adventures and climbing. What I like the most are huge cliffs in very far away places, with interesting journeys to get there. But in some ways, some of the expeditions I\u2019m doing now are harder and more dangerous than ever before. But, at 43 years old now, I have done a lot of stuff so I feel like my experience and knowledge can offset the danger. When I was 21, I could be on a straight forward expedition taking huge risks because I was a stupid 21-year-old adrenaline junkie. <\/span><\/p>\n I learned the hard way, with a terrible accident on Cerro Torre in Patagonia that was avoidable. The trips I am doing now are hardcore and really serious but we are not being reckless. We are doing extreme things, but with a very high level of caution and experience. It\u2019s a different danger. The <\/span>Spectre Expedition<\/span><\/i> was by far the most hardcore thing I\u2019ve ever done. But I think we were doing it with more intelligence and experience than before.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”1200px” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/zoecharef_leohoulding-8829.jpg” title_text=”zoecharef_leohoulding-8829″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font=”Merriweather|900|||||||” text_font_size=”16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Leo Houlding in Banff’s climbing gym. \u00a9Z.C.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#000000″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ body_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”30″ use_background_color=”off” custom_margin=”44px||||false|false” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n I can not just pause my carrer [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font_size=”16px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”62px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n L.H. : <\/strong>It is difficult. I\u2019m a professional full time climber and explorer and that requires traveling a lot. I love to do it, but I feel a conflict in my heart between this and being a good father. What children want is your attention, not your money or your fame. They just want your attention and time.<\/span><\/p>\n But at the same time, it\u2019s not like you can just pause a career like this, which is the dream I\u2019ve had since I was a child. I cannot pause it, raise my children for 15 years and come back on expeditions that cost a hundred of thousands of euros. It doesn\u2019t work like that.<\/span><\/p>\n And I have the life of my dreams. It\u2019s just trying to find that balance. I still do travel a lot, but when I\u2019m at home, I never go to the pub with friends, I spend every week-end with the kids, I actually don\u2019t climb that much in the week-ends to stay as much as possible with them. And I try to never be away more than 6 months in a year, but it\u2019s also never less than 3. Which is a lot of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” custom_margin=”14px|auto||auto||” custom_padding=”0|0px|22.796875px|0px|false|false” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font_size=”16px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n L.H. : <\/strong>Definitely. But my wife is also a climber and an adventurer and she was getting really squeezed because she looks after the kids when I\u2019m gone and once the holidays come, we did not want to give the kids to the grandparents and do our things without them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I thought let\u2019s see what we can do together as a family, and my wife was as much a driving force as me. She did not want to do small single pitch climbs with the kids. She wanted to go into the mountains and on adventures.<\/span><\/p>\n Even when the children were very small, like 5 and 1 year old, we tried a proper adventure in Slovenia, a long semi-technical via ferrata. We spent five days in the mountains, staying in huts. It was wonderful and it worked well! So we started to build on that system and climbed other things. You obviously have to be very selective with the objectives if climbing with small children, and ridges are the safest way of mountains. Also, the weather forecast is so good that you know what\u2019s going to happen for the next 2 days, so you\u2019re not going to get caught out in a storm while in the mountains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”1200px” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/still-4.jpeg” title_text=”still 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font=”Merriweather|900|||||||” text_font_size=”16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” border_style=”solid” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n La famille Houlding en vacances-exp\u00e9dition en Norv\u00e8ge en 2022. \u00a9Coll. Houlding<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/45a-2.jpeg” title_text=”45a-2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”-1px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_testimonial quote_icon_color=”#000000″ quote_icon_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ body_font=”Oswald|700||on|||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”30″ use_background_color=”off” custom_margin=”||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n I found a way of reconciling [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”800px” custom_margin=”5px|auto||auto||” custom_padding=”0|0px|22.796875px|0px|false|false” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font_size=”16px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ header_3_font_size_tablet=”” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n We are climbing walls as a family, which is quite amazing! I found a way of bringing and reconciling that conflict of expeditions and family and it\u2019s been extremely fun and every summer we\u2019ve been doing something amazing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is something about multi day and multi week expeditions. It changes, it\u2019s not just a day running around in the mountains. You start to connect with the landscape on a different level. You became a real expedition crew. After our first adventure I thought wouldn\u2019t it be amazing to do a proper expedition as a family like the one I do with my friends!? So I had this idea : the Wind River Ranch in Wyoming.<\/span><\/p>\n But the problem with wilderness expeditions is all the gear and food you have to bring for a family. This being said, I can\u2019t carry more than 40 kg max and I have to carry everything because my wife still has to be able to carry my little boy and I don\u2019t want my daughter to have anything. So when you have rock climbing, camping equipment, food, survival gear, everything for 14 days in the wilderness, that\u2019s a lot, approximately 100 kg. During our trip in Europe, we rented llamas, which are perfect because they can carry 30 kg, it\u2019s easy to look after and it is super fun for the children. We’ve been able to do some real climbs, like the east ridge of the Wolf Edge, a classical climb in north America!<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”1200px” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”800px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/alpinemag.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/house-gods-houlding.png” title_text=”house-gods-houlding” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ text_font=”Merriweather|900|||||||” text_font_size=”16″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” border_style=”solid” saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
a family adventure<\/p>\nAlpine Mag\u00a0: You are here at the Banff Film Festival to present your last movie Two point four<\/em>. Tell us a bit more about it!<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/h3>\n
are huge cliffs in very far away places<\/p>\nWhat is your vision of climbing and expeditions now, maybe compared to what you did before?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
to raise my children<\/p>\nOn your\u00a0Instagram account<\/a>, you present yourself as a climber\/explorer, husband\/father. How do you manage to do all these?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Is this also why you’ve been doing expeditions with them?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
my expeditions and my family<\/p>\n