But the 34-year-old is not just turning heads with his climbing and mountaineering skills. The newest member of the Richard Mille family, Dubouloz is as rugged and striking as the peaks he conquers, a fitting model to bear the brand’s signature high-performance watches in his arsenal of high-altitude expedition gear.

The luxury Swiss watch company has long been known for its technologically advanced timepieces, with a reputation for using innovative materials, intricate movements, barrel-shaped cases and elaborate skeletal movements. It’s also made a name for itself as the watch of choice for elite athletes, who favour the design for its durability and precision even under extreme conditions.

“This is why I’m attracted to the Richard Mille brand – there’s something ‘extreme’ about it,” says Dubouloz. “The watches are extreme like the elemental landscapes I express myself in. I connect to their unique creativity and their design geared up for sheer technical performance.”

Growing up in Annecy, an alpine town in southeastern France, Dubouloz says that it was youthful exuberance that led him up into the surrounding cliff sides as a boy.

“It was actually the need to channel some of my boundless energy,” he laughs. “I like to push the envelope in everything I do. Mountains are the place where I can express myself.”

That may have something to do with finding space where the physical and philosophical intermingle. After all, when you’re several kilometres up in the clouds, gravity’s pull is more than just a tangible force – it’s a reminder of our ephemeral place in the vastness of nature.

“On the mountainside, I seek the intensity I don’t get in horizontal life,” he adds. “Only then, when I’m up there, I allow myself, just for a few seconds, to take it all in and say: Wow!”

It’s an approach that aligns Dubouloz with fellow extreme athlete and long-time Richard Mille enthusiast, freediver Arnaud Jerald. Though their terrains differ, there’s an unmistakable parallel between the two men in their pursuit of pushing boundaries and confronting nature’s extremes, whether it’s the dizzying heights of a mountain or the profound depths of the ocean.

“Arnaud and I align ourselves to the vertical. At opposite ends of the spectrum, we both find osmosis with the elements at their most raw.”

And when Dubouloz finds himself at the vertical ends of the earth, he finds an anchor in his RM 67-02 Automatic Extra Flat. It’s a sportier version of its predecessor, the RM 67-01, handcrafted with an ultralight carbon TPT – the same material used to make the chassis of Formula One racing cars.

Other features of the watch include Richard Mille’s proprietary CRMA7 calibre automatic movement, and a base plate and skeletonised bridges built in durable grade 5 titanium. There’s also a highly elastic strap – customisable to match an athlete’s national colours – which fits snugly against the wrist during dynamic movements (like say, when you’re reaching for holds on an ice-covered mountain face in the Alps.)

It’s a testament to human engineering, much like Dubouloz’s own incredible feats are a testament to human will.

So having rocked the Rolling Stones, what new challenges await the French alpinist? He’s preparing for a trip to Pakistan, where he’ll attempt to reach new heights in the treacherous Karakoram Range, home to the world’s second-highest mountain, K2. He’s also eyeing up an ambitious “trilogy” in his childhood haven – the French Alps – with an audacious aim to summit three peaks back-to-back this winter.

As he sets his sights on formidable summits, Dubouloz often reflects on the deeper meanings and emotions tied to his conquests.

“Time is relative. One single moment can last forever, or a whole day disappears in an instant. I factor in fear. If there was no fear, mountaineering would be meaningless. Fear connects you to the ‘now’,” he adds. “The day I have no fear, I’ll stop climbing.”