A real-life origin story that celebrates a generation of climbers at a time when mountaineers were becoming professionals in their own right, distinct from the amateur locals who had gone before them. But Ailefroide is also a coming-of-age tale worthy of Mark Twain that anyone, climbing enthusiast or otherwise, will relish. It serves as a reminder of those joyful moments in our youth when we feel freer than ever, take risks, fall in love, fight, laugh, and joke. It also evokes those graver moments when we realize that we are not, after all, immortal.