Mäel Loizance is, for me, an unsung hero in rock climbing.

At first, the magnitude of his impact on me as a climber was due to the fact that he largely introduced me to the sport. I’m sure many climbers have a similar experience, that our early climbing partners have a big impact on us, how we climb, our values, what we think is cool, good, or valuable.

But, as I got to know Mäel, I found that his story went much deeper, into the roots of the local, national and even international climbing culture. He had come up in a world where climbing was much less normal, but became a passionate climber and pushed the limits of the sport. His friends were and are notable pioneers of sport climbing, who put up the hardest lines of their time, publicized them and thereby became well known climbing legends.

Mäel climbed at a similar level, but did not publicize his accomplishments, nor did he find it admirable to do so. I did ask Mäel to write a brief synopsis of his climbing accomplishments, which we’ve included on our website due to Youtube’s character limit. fusisfilms.com/mael-loizance-bio

Mäel differed in that he always climbed for himself- he just exudes love for climbing. He gave himself to each movement in a more complete and dynamic way that I had ever seen before, or since, and thereby accomplished grades near the top of the scale for his day. He developed many routes near his home in France, and also internationally, as far afield as Laos - long before the climbing boom those areas have seen in more recent times.

While he would never be so egotistical to tell his life’s story, II wanted to create a piece that shared his music, style, vision and mentality.

Thanks for watching, and thanks Mantas for teaming up with me to make this,

Paul Doffing

Mäel continues to share climbing Ariege region as a rock climbing and canyoneering guide. Go climb with him, you’ll never forget it, and you may never leave: escalade-canyon.com/