Sébastien Ibanez has passed away

A high-mountain guide and lecturer-researcher at the University of Savoie Mont-Blanc, Sébastien Ibanez died on May 8, 2026, in an avalanche at the Aiguille de l’Olan (3,373 m) in the Écrins massif. In recent years, he had crossed paths with other researchers at Labex ITTEM, collaborating on several projects there.

An ecologist specializing in high-altitude environments, Sébastien Ibanez joined Labex ITTEM in 2023 to forge links between ecology and the social sciences, convinced that contemporary mountain issues call for cross-disciplinary perspectives and approaches. He served as scientific co-coordinator of the research project “Androsace – Controversy in the High Mountains,” a project born out of the controversy surrounding the proposed extension of the Meije Glacier cable car in La Grave.

During the Mountain Research School held in 2024 in La Grave, Sébastien also presented his research on the Dauphiné androsace, a flower species endemic to the Écrins range discovered in 2021. In 2022, a local high-mountain guide had spotted several specimens on the rocky outcrop of the Girose Glacier, the site designated for the pylon of the controversial cable car. The following year, Sébastien Ibanez helped confirm its presence alongside the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB).

But beyond the scientific findings, it was above all a challenging reflection on the researcher’s role in the public sphere that Sébastien had come to share with the doctoral students: how to engage in public debate without compromising scientific rigor? How should one consider the relationship between neutrality, engagement, and responsibility when the knowledge produced informs collective decisions?

In an article published in June 2025 in The Conversation, Sébastien argued that scientific knowledge is never produced outside the social world and that it can help inform collective decisions in the face of contemporary ecological challenges. Just days before his death, he reiterated in the pages of Montagnes Magazine that scientific knowledge serves not only to answer technical questions but can also contribute to the protection of glaciers and the ecosystems surrounding them.

This conviction led him to help found the Rimaye collective, bringing together scientists committed to protecting high-mountain environments. In particular, he co-authored the book *Glacier de la Girose, versant sensible*, published in December 2024, as well as an exhibition combining science, storytelling, and artistic creation. Through these two initiatives, the aim was not only to document the ongoing transformations of glacial environments but also to open a space for discussion on the possible futures of the high mountains in the face of contemporary ecological crises.

Sébastien is remembered as a passionate researcher, generous in his exchanges, and deeply committed to understanding high-altitude environments. He held a vision of research that was rigorous, grounded in fieldwork, and attentive to political issues. His contribution to the discussions within Labex ITTEM extends far beyond the projects to which he contributed. It is also measured by the intellectual and human rigor that characterized him: fostering dialogue between disciplines, opening controversies to collective discussion, and viewing research as a resource for reflecting on the transformations of the world.

Discover some of the many tributes paid to him: 

• By the Leca laboratory: In memoriam Sébastien Ibanez
• By the UFR Sciences et montagnes: In memoriam Sébastien Ibanez
• By Ludovic Ravanel: The passing of Sébastien Ibanez: a life between science and the mountains
• By Mikaël Chambru: Death of Sébastien Ibanez in an Avalanche: “A Brilliant Researcher and a Much-Loved Teacher”