Pierre Gougoux, a man as tall as the highest mountain

Pierre Gougoux travelled to Baffin on his skis and went as far as Ellesmere Island, just before the Arctic Ocean. He has visited the Alps about 40 times, Mount Atlas in Morocco, the Pyrenees, Mount Blanc and many others. He even taught for two years in Togo, Africa. “I adore gazing at the mountains as far as my eyes can see and enjoy being alone in nature. What really hooks me is travelling with my students and letting them discover mountains, feeling their excitement. This changes their sense of values. They’re no longer afraid to make the effort. When we return to school, we all know each other better. The Sherpas, the people from the Andes, the Inuits – these are the people that interest me.”

He is also father to six children. “I have two adult children: a 35-year old son and a 37-year old daughter who is a doctor. My wife and I adopted four children from Colombia. We requested to adopt two children, but the orphanage had four children from the same family whom they’ve been trying to place for three years. We adopted all of them.”

He became a teacher in mathematical physics. “I taught at the Pointe Saint-Charles high school and when I began discovering the mountains, I took my students along with me. I discovered Mount Washington and decided to bring the first group of students there. It was winter and the temperature was minus 90 Celsius. I could have met with failure.”

In 1976, Pierre Gougoux moved to the André-Laurendeau Cegep. “The Cegep hired me as a professor of recreational activities. We have two major expeditions each year, one in Nepal during the Christmas holidays and one in the Alps in June.” From December 24, 2007 to January 20, 2008, 10 students and 27 participants converged on Mount Patthar in Nepal located at an altitude of 5,600 metres. The expedition started from the village of Paphlu and the climb lasted seven days before the group reached the Mount Everest base camp. The students went to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. “We assist schools, orphanages and street children. We brought 22 huge bags containing clothes. We gave two pieces of clothing to each child and you should have seen their eyes - it was like they received a treasure. We were truly moved and dazzled.”