Velars-sur-Ouche. "It felt like we were on another planet": they climbed to the roof of Europe to help Hugo and his mother

At 29 and 30 years old, Marco Madonna and Romano Rossi, two friends who grew up in Plombières-lès-Dijon, have fulfilled their childhood dream: to climb to the roof of Europe, to climb Mont Blanc. "We've been talking about it since we were little because from Plombières, we can see Mont Blanc very clearly on certain days. And we're both passionate about mountains and hiking, so we said we'd go up there. The goal has been achieved," says Romano Rossi, who, in addition to climbing the highest peak in the Alps, had begun his challenge a few days earlier by bike from sea level in Nice.

The goal is to help another childhood friend, Mélanie Thibault, and her son Hugo Boissy, aged 5 and with a disability, who live in Velars-sur-Ouche. An online fundraiser has been set up for the association L'aventure extraordinaire d'Hugo . "On the fundraiser, which is still active , we have already raised a little over €1,400 and two companies have made donations of €1,000 and €700 to the association. We have therefore managed to raise €3,100 for Hugo so far," he emphasizes.

After a journey of around 500 km on two wheels , then on foot, climbing from Chamonix to the Plan de l'Aiguille at an altitude of 2,300 m, he met up with his friend Marco Madonna and Philippe, a 22-year-old German mountaineer who was already very experienced and whom he had met on a mountaineering app. The latter took up the challenge and agreed to guide them on their ascent.

To climb this legendary summit , they chose the historic route, less traveled but more complicated. On Thursday, July 3, the three men first reached the Grands Mulets refuge by crossing the Bossons glacier and its crevasses. A passage that Marco Madonna really liked: "There was a lot of noise at the bottom of the crevasses. It was the first time we had walked on a glacier. It was both impressive with large columns of ice and a majestic setting. We felt like we were on another planet."

After recharging our batteries a little at the refuge, at an altitude of 3,050 m, and taking some valuable advice from the warden, it was time for the real start, very early Friday morning, around 1 a.m. The ascent began with headlamps, skirting around crevasses. "We were very focused on our steps, so there was no room for fear," says Marco Madonna. However, the weather was very cloudy, and at around 4,200 m, Marco began to experience heart palpitations and altitude sickness. Fortunately, Romano knew how to find the words to remotivate him, and after a beneficial break at the Valot refuge at 4,300 m, it was the final stretch with the sun returning.

Marco Madonna is suffering on this final climb. As for Romano, upon seeing the summit, tears begin to flow down his cheeks. Marco also begins to cry from the emotion. And then it's the summit, "Magnificent, grandiose," according to Marco. "We hugged each other," says Romano, adding: "What's incredible is that I had signal at the top of Mont Blanc, so I was able to make a video call with my wife and son from up there."

The descent was no walk in the park either, as Marco Madonna had to pull himself out of a hole in a snow bridge twice, but upon arrival in Chamonix, Hugo and his mother, as well as Romano Rossi's family, were waiting to congratulate them. A unique experience that Marco Madonna wants to put on paper, as he is preparing an illustrated book about this adventure.