500 ascents, 85 years and a life lesson: My flight over the Moléson for Francis

When the phone rings at Darwin Production, we often expect big projects, but rarely such a powerful human moment. On the line, Jean-Luc pitches an extraordinary idea: his father-in-law, Francis Kilchoer, is about to climb the via ferrata on the Moléson for the 500th time. The detail that changes everything? Francis is 85 years old.

A take-off under the sign of kindness

On the big day, I arrive at the base of the cable car. On the technical side, everything is green: the Moléson is a permitted area for drone flight and the sky is clear and blue. The day is already a success, but the best is yet to come.

I approach a group without knowing anyone. The welcome from Jean-Luc and Gislaine, Francis’s daughter, is rare in warmth. Around them are friends and media: La Liberté, Frapp, La Télé… Everyone is there to witness the feat. But in the middle of this activity, there is Francis.

The gaze of an 85-year-old child

In the cabin that takes us to the first level, I find myself beside Francis, his wife and their faithful dog. Jean-Luc introduces me: “He came from Lausanne just to have you film with your drone!”

Francis turns to me and smiles. In that moment I received a lesson only the mountains can give. In his eyes I saw a spark of pure joy, raw emotion and almost childlike sincerity that moved me. That was the point my work as a videographer changed. I was no longer there only to make “beautiful aerial footage” of grand landscapes. I had to capture this energy and the invisible bonds that united this group.

The “medicine” and the rock face

Arriving at the first section, before we even begin the approach, Francis stops. It is time to pick some gentians to make his famous “medicine”. I confess as a videographer I learn on the job what the plant looks like in the wild. To mark the start, we all get a small glass — journalists and friends — to be “in good form”.

Then we finally head to the rock face. I follow them on foot for a while, but the call of the air is too strong. I launch my first flight to capture their departure on the rock. Not easy to find them at first in that vast mineral space! I decide to go up above to film them from the top. To reach the final point where Gislaine has planned a small surprise, I must progress along a ridge with all my equipment on my back… a moment of intense concentration for me too.

More than a performance, a legacy

This film became much more than a drone pilot assignment; it is the story of a day suspended between sky and earth, carried by a touching man who proves that age is only a number when the heart still thirsts for altitude.

Projects like this are part of the stories we share in our video production projects.

Discover the result of this exceptional day in images: