Hélène Drouin, interne en chirurgi à Lyon

My adventures in France and in the world

A passion for new experiences

« Make life a dream, and a dream a reality ».
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Since childhood, sports have always been crucial for maintaining my life balance. Even throughout Medical School, I sought out increasingly challenging races, such as marathons, cross-country skiing races, alpinism, and triathlons, including the Iron Man in Nice. My three-week expedition in Kyrgyzstan to summit the 7130m high Lenin Peak without oxygen confirmed my passion for high altitudes, leading me to set my sights on Mount Everest.

On May 11th, 2021, I reached the summit of Mt. Everest and became the youngest Frenchwoman to do so – an unforgettable experience.

Since then, I’ve embarked on new experiences. In November 2021, I took to the seas for the first time, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. And in May 2023, I crossed the Pacific Ocean aboard the French Navy’s helicopter carrier Dixmude.

Mount Everest: THE Preparation

My project started in June 2020. I sought training advice from top athletes of French National teams and interviewed them on my Youtube channel.

One-third of the budget was funded by sponsors, while the rest was covered by my locum work as a Doctor in A&E at the NHS in the UK.

I had to organize the equipment, undergo physical preparation in alpinism, and mentally prepare with my hypnotherapist.

Mount Everest: The Ascent

On April 5th 2021, I flew to Nepal.

The expedition was led by an expert team of Sherpa guides of the “Ascent Himalaya” agency. Mingmar Sherpa, the team leader, has climbed Mount Everest 20 times and was being filmed for a romanced biography about his life called “Everest Dark”.

On May 11th 2021 at 10am, I reached the summit at 8849m high with the whole team and became the youngest Frenchwoman Everest summiter.

On the summit, I felt so energized by the majesty of the view, and so humbled by the immensity of nature. And then remembered that I still had two days to climb down the mountain in the Death Zone…