Meet Your Guide: Manou Roux

Tour du Mont Blanc trips are trekking soon! We thought we’d start introducing our TMB guides early! Today, we’re starting with Manou!

What’s your name?

My name is Emmanuel Roux

Do you have any nicknames?

Manou

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’ve done the TMB more than 100 times!

What are your hobbies?

Skiing, climbing, reading books and going camping with my wife.

How long have you been a guide?

I have been a guide since I was 26 years old

Why did you decide to become a guide?

At the beginning, I wanted to be a mountain guide but I fell in an avalanche, so I quit the high mountain for more smooth and safe mountains

What’s your favourite thing about guiding treks?

I have many favourite things about guiding treks, but one is to jump into or swim in the little rivers of cold water in the mountain.

What’s the craziest thing that’s happened on a trek?

One time I had to rescue a sheep with ropes in Lofoten, Norway.

We should ask him to tell us this story! – AA Team

What do you think is a quality that every good guide needs?

One should be closed to your group, always help the ones in need, and not push anyone too hard.

Tell us something fun about your treks!

In Italia, sometimes if we drink too much GRAPA after the traditional GROLA, I get so much fun…

Anything else you want us to know about you?

At the beginning, when I was around 18 years old I went to the United States with my French Crepe machine to learn English. It was then that I came to love that I could interact with people who come from all over the world, because we speak English.

Lastly, what tip can you give our trekkers heading your way?

To respect yourselves, you must be healthy before the trek. You must train with physical activity, like jogging, many weeks before the trek starts.