Bérengère, instructor in Millau for 22 years.

I grew up in south-west France, in a family that walked. At 15, I touched my first rock face on a summer camp. I never let go. By 19, I was climbing 6c, travelling to the Calanques, discovering mountain bivouacs. At 25, I passed my State certification and started guiding.

I settled in Le Rozier in 2014, after a few years working in the Alpine ranges. I chose this corner because the Tarn and Jonte Gorges had struck me from my very first visit: the sheer volume of rock, the quality of the bolting, the raw beauty of the Causse Méjean and the Causse Noir. I was 30, and I wanted a home.

I chose this valley for the vultures, for the quality of the limestone, for the light on the causses. Ten years later, I have no wish to leave.

My training

DEJEPS climbing and canyoning (State Diploma in Youth, Popular Education and Sport). The professional qualification that allows guiding multi-pitch climbing and canyoning independently.

My approach: bringing Sport AND Nature together

I'm a professional instructor, and I'm also a naturalist guide. On an outing with me, we're not just doing sport. We watch the griffon vultures passing at eye level, we spot the wild garlic in the undergrowth, we talk about the geological layers under our feet, we stop to listen to a white-throated dipper on the river. Sport is the means, not the end. What I want to give you is a reading of this land.

How I work

• Small groups: 3 people maximum on multi-pitch, 10 in canyoning, via ferrata and sport climbing.
• I answer the phone myself. You speak to me, I guide you, and I'm the one with you on the day.
• A call the day before to confirm the precise weather and meeting point.
• Progressive teaching: we step up the difficulty with your agreement, only as far as suits you.
• Bilingual: I welcome French and English-speaking guests.

Why book with me

Because twenty-two years in the same valley builds a local knowledge few operators possess. Because I'm an independent professional: I work for you. Because I'd rather have one fewer outing and one of real quality than a day stretched too thin.