On My Own Two Feet: Climbing a 3000m Peak on Prosthetic Blades
New Salomon TV follows 6 amputees as they attempt to climb a 3,000-meter peak in the French Alps using a new prosthetic blade
“My first thought was: what the hell are we doing here? When you see all these people about to climb, you just hope you are not setting them up for failure. ”
Jérôme Bernard
Co-Organizer of the Hopper 3000 Project
“On My Own Two Feet” is the story of six amputees—Luca, Sarah, Christophe, Boris, Jérôme and Michel--ranging in age from 19 to 64, who set out to climb a 3,000-meter peak in the French Alps. The expedition was part of the Hopper Project, a collaboration between Airbus Humanity Lab and engineering students from IMT Mines Albi in Toulouse, France to develop a new, more affordable prosthetic blade for amputees. Using the new prototype Hopper blade, which also features an outsole made by Salomon, the group will rely on each other, their able-bodied partners, and their own desire to get up—and down—the mountain.
“I hope that everyone who watches this movie feels inspired to dare to try. That’s what On My Own Two Feet is to me: whether you walk on one or two feet, you need to try! ”
Boris Ghirardi
Salomon athlete
“I hope that everyone who watches this movie feels inspired to dare to try. That’s what On My Own Two Feet is to me: whether you walk on one or two feet, you need to try,” says Boris Ghirardi. “I hope that people can use us as an example: if they can do it, why can’t we?
”This story began when Jérôme Bernard, a triple amputee, was seeking to buy prosthetic legs to start running again. Prostheses can be very expensive, so he contacted French aircraft maker Airbus to develop a more affordable prosthesis using leftover composite materials from planes. Ten students from the engineering school IMT Les Mines spent four months working on this project before reaching out to Salomon to work on the outsole of the prosthesis. Patrick Leick, Athlete Services Manager for Salomon Trail Running, saw this as a great opportunity to help make hiking and running more accessible for amputees.
The combined team spent several months testing different prototypes with Jérôme and another amputee, Boris Ghirardi. Both runners are now Salomon athletes, and the group also worked in the biomechanical laboratory at Salomon to test the blade. Thanks to decades of biomechanical knowledge gained from creating footwear for runners, adventurers and hikers of all levels—and the grippy Contagrip technology that has been developed and refined by Salomon over the years—the team was able to create a durable outsole for amputees to use when walking or running in the mountains. The overall cost of the blade has been cut in half compared to regular prostheses. The students have now created a company to make this prosthesis available to the general public. The new prosthetic “blade” is now available to purchase at 1,950 € through your professional prosthetist.
On My Own Two Feet premiers on Salomon TV on October 11th, 2022, and will be shown at several film festivals across the world, including (but not limited to):
- 2022 Mountain & Adventure Film Festival; September 22-25; Mammoth Lakes, California - USA
- World Trails Film Festival; September 26-30; Skiathos - Greece
- BARUNFF Buenos Aires Running Film Festival; November 14-20; Buenos Aires - Argentina
- Transylvania Mountain Festival; November 22 - 24 November; Cluj-Napoca - Romania