The living legend that is Pascal Brun

You probably wouldn't recognise him if he walked past you in the street, but you will almost certainly have seen him at work. Pascal Brun really is a living legend in the Chamonix valley as helicopter pilot at Chamonix Mont Blanc Helicopters (CMBH) and the man has got himself a new helicopter - in unmissable bright yellow!

Flying out of their landing site at the foot of the Argentiere glacier, Pascal and team not only take tourists on thrilling helicopter rides, they also carry out a huge amount of work in the valley. It was Pascal who carried out rotations to dump water on the forest fire under the Brevent bubble lift this summer and it was Pascal who helicoptered up materials for the renovation of the Vallot hut at 4362m, to name just two missions.

With well over 16,000 flying hours under his belt, Pascal Brun, who is a true Chamoniard, certainly knows his helicopters. So, when he recently took delivery of his shiny new personal B3 helicopter, he decided to throw a massive party in a marquee at their base in Argentiere to celebrate. How cool is that!

Having worked for many years with the refuges in the valley, the Compagnie du Mont and the rescue services (Pascal was a rescue pilot until he launched CMBH in 1992 with Marc Blanc), all were invited for a get-together last weekend with the star guest being the bright yellow B3 helicopter with its Eagle livery. We're not sure how it happened, but it seems our invitation for this little soiree went missing in the post. Ho hum.

Oh and just to prove what a living yellow-heli flying legend he really is, Pascal Brun even has a Facebook fan club page set up in his veritable honour!

Pics : D Rendu