La Clusaz, late 1980s. As mogul skiing evolved into freestyle and local champions started competing at the highest level, another kind of phenomenon was emerging behind the scenes on the slopes: the fan. The mega fan. The kind of fan who pitches his tent by the slopes or hires a camper van to drive from La Clusaz to Norway, taking advantage of the opportunity to sneak in some Reblochon cheese and génépi liqueur. The fan who happened to find a bugle and blows it louder than at a downhill start in Kitzbühel. That fan is Serge. Serge Mermillod.
A retired house painter, Serge never really hung up his paint brushes. He just swapped them from time to time for dented bugles, 3-m²-flags and pots of whiting
powder. A native of Les Villards-sur-Thônes who has lived in La Clusaz for many years, Serge is best known for being one of the stalwarts of the local ski fan club alongside other party animals. An in-house institution, created even before the Olympic Games in Albertville in 1992. “There were about 20 of us mates making a bit of noise for Edgar Grospiron and Raphaëlle Monod”. But it was in 1994, at the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, that the epic took on the air of a Nordic saga. “Fifteen of us climbed into camper vans with some Reblochon cheese, génépi liqueur and a boot full of dreams!”.
The result: a giant tartiflette at Club France, an empty bottle of génépi on the way back, -20° outside, a bugle and a medal for Edgar! All escorted by the police until they left La Clusaz. It was quite an adventure and it marked the start of a powerful fan club.
Let’s talk about the bugle. On loan from the fire brigade (“thank you, Jean-Pierre”), once lost in the boot of a car after a party for Vincent Vittoz and found again a year later, it continues to blast out with joy despite a few dents. “It’s a bit twisted, but with a beer or two, it works even better”.
In local folklore, you don’t blow into it until after the medal; that brings good luck for the future. Johan Clarey, Régine Cavagnoud, Vincent Vittoz, Edgar Grospiron… They’ve all been there. “And soon it will be Léo Anguenot’s turn!”
Apart from that, Serge also has another passion: decorating champions’ helmets. Régine Cavagnoud, Johan Clarey, Loïc Collomb-Patton… Each helmet has its own personality, sometimes a comic strip, a nod to the skier’s passions. And when he’s not painting a fast car or blowing his bugle, Serge is out cycling or hiking, all from the comfort of his own home, keeping things local.
Today, memories pile up like stickers on a helmet. He should write a book or hold a reunion of the original fan club, with tartiflette, white wine and a bugle call in the background. Just to show young people that the real fans are still alive and kicking. They drive camper vans, they paint helmets and they know that sometimes, a medal starts with a good blast on the bugle in the early hours of the morning. But the new generation of fans is very much in evidence in La Clusaz, and they’re making their own voices heard!
