The discovery of Ötzi in 1991—a prehistoric mummy unearthed in the Italian Dolomites—upended long-held beliefs: the high mountains, once thought to be uninhabited, were in fact frequented by humans. In France, Alpine archaeology then gained new momentum. Florence Mocci, a CNRS archaeologist at the Camille Jullian Center, chose the Écrins massif as her field of exploration, crisscrossing the heights and scrutinizing every ledge to find traces of the first mountaineers and bring to light a history long buried beneath the ice. Follow her research by listening to episode 104 of the Les Baladeurs podcast.
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From the world’s highest peaks to its deepest forests, listen to unique and extraordinary travel stories on the Les Baladeurs podcast. Every 15 days, discover stories and firsthand accounts of adventures and misadventures in the great outdoors.
This episode was produced by Thomas Firh, with the assistance of Inès Cochard. The story was narrated by Clémence Hacquart. The music was composed by Nicolas de Ferran. Chloé Wibaux handled the editing, and Antoine Martin from Krispy Record studio handled the mixing.
Article published on Thursday 1 October 2026.
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