Though saying this may or may not upset you, I didn’t live through any of the 1990s. It’s not that I don’t remember any of the 90s, it’s that I simply wasn’t alive during the 90s, so my knowledge of the culture is based solely on stories and movies. I can tell you one thing quite confidently, though. If the following video captures any of what the 90s were truly like, I’m extremely disappointed to have missed them.
This video does appear to be 100% in French, and, unfortunately, I didn’t pay enough attention during my French classes back in high school. I can’t provide a complete translation for this rad video, but google translate is able to give us a few answers as to what’s going on here.
From what I can tell, this video comes either from a television show or from a single television episode titled “La Réunion de l’Extrême”, released in 1991. It features Vincent Terrisse, a guide from the Cantal department of France who, according to the Bureau Des Guides D’Auvergne (mixed with a bit of google translate), contributed to the mountain activities on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. The video, of course, was filmed on Réunion, and appears to feature two of the island’s peaks: Piton des Neiges and a volcano (I believe it’s Piton de la Fournaise, though I have very little evidence to back that up). Again, I don’t speak French. If you’re watching this and do understand French, though, I would to hear about what I missed and what I might have gotten wrong.
This is a darn rad video, and it’s wicked cool to see Terrisse work his way down the rocky slopes on his skis. The best part of the entire video, though, has to be when Vincent is walking down the beach with his skis and boots over his shoulder. If I was given just one wish, I would wish to be that friggin’ cool.
Image Credit: Réunionnais du Monde via YouTube