Mountain Wilderness France

What Mountain Wilderness France does

Mountain Wilderness France is a French nonprofit association (loi 1901), headquartered at 5 place Bir Hakeim, 38000 Grenoble, and founded in September 1988 as the French section of Mountain Wilderness International. It is recognised as being of public utility (reconnu d'utilité publique) and approved for environmental protection (agréé protection de l'environnement) across the entire national territory, with SIREN 387 488 471. The association's mission is the protection of mountain environments through three action areas: defending natural mountain spaces, encouraging respectful practices, and amplifying transitions in mountain territories. Its core offerings are organised around advocacy campaigns — Installations Obsolètes (cataloguing and dismantling 200+ obsolete structures in protected mountain zones), Changer d'Approche (a car-free mobility campaign with 15,000+ itineraries on a partner-built cartographic portal developed with CamptoCamp), and Silence! (anti-motorised-leisure advocacy, contributing to the C.A.L.M.E. coalition petition that gathered 180,000+ signatures) — supplemented by educational tools (Fresque de la Montagne workshop, 16-edition "10 idées de sorties montagne sans voiture" brochure series) and thematic dossiers on glaciers, climate, agriculture, culture, and industry.

The association is financed primarily by individual citizens through membership dues and donations, supplemented by institutional co-funding for specific programmes (notably ADEME and the Comité de Massif des Alpes for the 2025–2027 Imaginaire des Montagnes project). It operates a community-led go-to-market model with 22 active territorial delegations across French mountain massifs, a volunteer-driven field operations capacity, and an ambassador network (La Grande Cordée) of artists, athletes, and public figures. Distribution is conducted through its own digital channels (mountainwilderness.fr, newsletter, social media), dedicated press relations, partner organisations (FFCAM, CAF, FNE, tourist offices), and participation in outdoor industry events such as the Salon de l'Escalade and Festival International de Film d'Autrans. Governance is via a 21-member Board of Directors chaired by President Fiona Mille, with Director Julien Loyer leading a roughly 12-person operational staff handling communications, fundraising, advocacy, and campaign-specific chargé(e)s de mission.

Name

Mountain Wilderness France

Legal name

Mountain Wilderness France

Website

https://mountainwilderness.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mountain Wilderness France is a Grenoble-based nonprofit association (loi 1901) that protects French mountain environments through advocacy campaigns (Installations Obsolètes, Changer d'Approche, Silence!), field operations, and educational publications, financed primarily by citizen members, donors, and select public grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Grenoble

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues and donations: Individual members pay annual dues and make financial contributions to support the association. The organization states it is 'majority financed by citizens,' which allows it to maintain independence of action and positions.
2. Public fundraising and charitable donations: Mountain Wilderness runs fundraising campaigns and appeals for donations, with fiscal receipts issued for tax purposes. Donation data is retained for 6 years after the year of the last donation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mountain Wilderness France is a nonprofit environmental association (loi 1901) that protects mountain environments through three action pillars: defending natural mountain spaces (e.g., cataloguing and dismantling obsolete installations), encouraging respectful practices (e.g., the Changer d'Approche soft-mobility campaign and Silence! campaign against motorized leisure), and amplifying territory transitions (e.g., Montagnes en Transition, Fresque de la Montagne). It offers advocacy campaigns, educational workshops, thematic publications and dossiers, position papers, and grassroots volunteer field operations for hikers, mountaineers, public institutions, and policymakers.

Product overview

Mountain Wilderness France operates as an environmental nonprofit organization (association loi 1901) focused on mountain protection through three interconnected action areas: defending natural mountain spaces, encouraging respectful practices, and amplifying territory transitions. The organization's core offerings consist of advocacy campaigns (Installations Obsolètes for dismantling abandoned mountain infrastructure, Changer d'Approche for car-free mobility with 15,000+ routes on a shared portal with CamptoCamp, and Silence! for protecting mountain quiet), educational tools (Fresque de la Montagne climate workshop, position papers), and published resources (16 regional car-free outing brochures, thematic dossiers on glaciers/culture/industry/agriculture). The products work together to raise awareness, enable hands-on participation through volunteer work sites, and influence policy for sustainable mountain development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Installations Obsolètes Campaign Campaign dedicated to identifying, cataloging, and dismantling abandoned man-made structures in mountain protected areas that scar landscapes and endanger wildlife and hikers; operational since 2002 with more than 200 obsolete installations catalogued across French national parks and reserves.
• Changer d'Approche Campaign Campaign promoting soft mobility and car-free mountain recreation, offering over 15,000 itinerary routes via the changerdapproche.org portal and distributing printed brochures for car-free mountain outings.
• Silence! Campaign Advocacy campaign protecting mountain silence from motorized leisure activities, including sensitization documents and community organizing tools. The related 'Dites non aux loisirs motorisés pour protéger le calme' petition gathered over 180,000 signatures across all media supports.
• Montagnes en Transition Initiative Initiative focused on accelerating mountain territory transitions through collective imagination work and prospective storytelling about alternative mountain futures.
• Thematic Dossiers and Publications Published thematic dossiers (Dossier Thématique series) covering mountain issues such as glaciers, culture, industry, agriculture, and climate change; annual activity reports; and position notes on mountain policy.
• Collection '10 idées de sorties montagne sans voiture' Series of 16 printed brochures offering car-free mountain outing ideas, covering various French massifs (Alps, Pyrenees, Corsica, Massif Central, Vosges) accessible by public transport, from departure cities like Paris, Lyon, Annecy, and Clermont-Ferrand.
• Fresque de la Montagne Pedagogical workshop and card game to sensitize the public about climate change in mountains and invent new futures for mountain territories.
• Salon de l'Escalade Mobility Space Shared awareness space at the Paris Climbing Show featuring soft mobility workshops, including bicycle pannier mounting tutorials, intermodal adventure planning, upcycling workshops, and mobility competitions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 180,000+ petition signatures collected for motorised leisure regulation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HelloAssocoreOthersHelloAsso serves as Mountain Wilderness France's payment processing partner for membership fees and donations. It operates its own privacy policy and handles payment operations for the association.
• Parc national des ÉcrinscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing operational partnership in which Mountain Wilderness and the Parc national des Écrins jointly organize field operations including the dismantling of obsolete installations such as the pluviometer at Vallouise-Pelvoux.
• Parc national du MercantourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMountain Wilderness and the Parc national du Mercantour have co-organized multiple mountain cleanup operations since 2002, removing tonnes of military waste and obsolete installations from the park's border areas.
• Parc national de la VanoisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on dismantling obsolete installations, most notably the ski lifts on Glacier de Chavière that were removed in 2002 in agreement with the park and the SETAM operator.
• Fédération Française des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne (FFCAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMountain Wilderness collaborates with the CAF on advocacy campaigns (e.g., joint bivouac protest in 1989, chain of 400 skiers on Glacier de Chavière) and co-organizes events such as the 'Rencontres autour de la montagne'.
• Mountain Wilderness InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe international movement was founded in 1987 in Biella, Italy. Mountain Wilderness France is the French section created in September 1988 at the Congrès d'Évian. The international body is active in approximately 10 countries, primarily in Europe and Asia.
• KAP (K'éco Activités de Pleine Nature)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Imaginaire des Montagnes' project (2025–2027), a 3-year initiative exploring collective imaginaries related to mountains and prospective storytelling for mountain territory transitions.
• Mountain RidersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Imaginaire des Montagnes' project (2025–2027) alongside KAP, CIPRA, Mountain Change Makers, and the Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat.
• CIPRA (Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alpes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Imaginaire des Montagnes' project and in broader Alpine environmental advocacy. Mountain Wilderness has historically worked with CIPRA France on joint campaigns.
• Mountain Change MakersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Imaginaire des Montagnes' project focused on accelerating transitions in mountain territories through collective imaginary work.
• CamptoCampcoreTechnology or IntegrationMountain Wilderness partnered with CamptoCamp to develop the Changer d'Approche cartographic portal, which hosts over 15,000 accessible mountain itineraries reachable by public transport.
• La Haute SociétéminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDigital agency based in Grenoble that designed and built the mountainwilderness.fr website.
• Un Col ou un Pic, Aventures sans Voiture, Slostr, Vélogrimpe, Protect our Winters, CamptoCamp, Climatosportifs, Mountain Change Makers, Uni-Vert SportminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAssociations co-present at the Salon de l'Escalade 2026 sharing an 'espace mobilité douce' organized by Mountain Wilderness to promote car-free mountain recreation.
• France Nature Environnement (FNE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMountain Wilderness is a member of FNE, France's largest federation of environmental associations. Both organizations co-signed petitions (C.A.L.M.E.) and jointly pursue legal action against motorized leisure in protected areas.
• C.A.L.M.E. (Coordination pour l'Adaptation des Loisirs Motorisés à l'Environnement)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC.A.L.M.E. is a coalition of environmental and outdoor organizations (including FNE, WWF, CIPRA France, FFCAM, FFRandonnée) united against motorized leisure in natural spaces. The coalition's petition gathered over 180,000 signatures.
• ReporterreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent ecology media outlet that co-organized a conference 'Sport à la montagne : quel avenir face au changement climatique?' with Mountain Wilderness at the Académie du Climat in Paris.
• La PassaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAssociation co-organizing the film 'Mont-Blanc éternel ?' screening and debate with Mountain Wilderness at the 'Rencontres autour de la montagne' in Ailefroide.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux): Historic French wildlife and habitat protection association with public-utility status. Comparable as a recognised environmental advocacy nonprofit with strong volunteer membership and field-operation heritage, though its focus is ornithology and biodiversity rather than mountains specifically.
• WWF France: Major French environmental NGO and C.A.L.M.E. coalition partner. Comparable as a large-scale environmental advocacy organisation, but with a much broader species-and-habitat remit rather than a mountain-exclusive focus.
• Greenpeace France: Major French environmental advocacy NGO with high public salience. Comparable as a nonprofit operating on donations and memberships with strong campaign-driven advocacy; differs in being much larger and broader than the mountain-exclusive remit.
• France Nature Environnement (FNE): France's largest federation of environmental protection associations; Mountain Wilderness is a member. Comparable as an environmental advocacy umbrella, but operates across all ecosystems (not exclusively mountains) and at much larger scale.

Others

• Surfrider Foundation Europe: European environmental NGO headquartered in France focused on ocean and coastal protection. Comparable as a membership-funded French advocacy organisation with EU policy influence and grassroots chapters, though its natural-domain focus (littoral vs. mountain) makes it more thematically adjacent than directly competitive.

Emerging players

• Protect Our Winters France: French chapter of the global Protect Our Winters movement mobilising mountain sports communities on climate. Direct thematic overlap with Mountain Wilderness' climate-mountain advocacy; smaller and more recently established, focused on athlete-led mobilisation rather than territorial field operations.
• Mountain Change Makers: Partner on the Imaginaire des Montagnes project, focused on accelerating transitions in mountain territories. Direct thematic overlap with Mountain Wilderness' transition pillar; smaller and project-based rather than a permanent membership organisation.

Direct peers

• Mountain Riders: French NGO focused on the environmental footprint of mountain sports, partnered with Mountain Wilderness on the Salon de l'Escalade and Imaginaire des Montagnes. Closely comparable in size, target audience (mountain sports practitioners), and soft-mobility advocacy mission.
• Mountain Wilderness International: The founding international NGO (Biella, Italy, 1987) of which Mountain Wilderness France is the French section. Operates in ~10 countries across Europe and Asia with the same mountain-wilderness protection mandate, making it the closest direct peer by mission, structure, and history.
• CIPRA (Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alpes): International commission dedicated to protecting the Alps, a current Mountain Wilderness partner. Highly comparable as an Alpine advocacy organisation with a similar transnational remit, multi-stakeholder approach, and policy-influence model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/mountainwilderness
• Facebookfacebook.com/MountainWildernessFrance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mountain-wilderness-france
• Instagraminstagram.com/mountain_wilderness_france

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mountain Wilderness France