Light after Darkness

A fiery guardian of eternal snow, the The Dent d'Hérens rises to an altitude of 4173 metres between the Valpelline and Valtournenche valleys, in the heart of the Valais Alps. I still have vivid memories of the day I climbed it alongside Vivian Bruchez. It was one of my first high-mountain climbs. This summit legend has always inspired me with his gigantic stature and difficult approach. Wanting to portray him is an adventure in itself. I took this magnificent black-and-white photograph of the The Dent d'Hérens as a tribute to its history. Its hanging glaciers, heritage jewels of the Alps, face their doom year after year. I watch helplessly as they give way to rock. Until, one day soon, what was once known as Dent Blanche will be tinged only with the grey of its stones. As an unarmed spectator of the drama unfolding, I collect its testimony by photographing it. I dedicate my life to passing on the heritage of a high mountain that proclaims its lost splendor to the deaf world.

The sun rises over the northeast face of the The Dent d'Hérens. The sky is still dark, disturbed by the night's winds. In the foreground, the Wandfluehorn ridge winds its way between the Val d'Hérens and the Zermatt valley, guiding our gaze towards the queenly mountain, dazzling and vertiginous. Without doubt, one of the most beautiful in the Alps. A relic of a storm past, a cloud tops its summit.

The stretched shadows of dawn breathe life into the Himalayan landscape, gently redrawing the fascinating contours of its rock and ice. When light enters into symbiosis with snow, stone and wind, nature gives us the most marvellous of spectacles. Her masterpiece. I love the abstract beauty of photography. As you contemplate the new forms emerging from the mountains, you'll give free rein to your imagination. Everyone finds their own way, different from the others. Through the emotions it arouses, the mountain always reveals a part of ourselves.