The Awakening of the Peaks

Winter sunrise in the heart of the French Pre-Alps. Here we are, facing the famous Dent d'Oche, which rises to an altitude of 2,221 meters above Lake Geneva and Evian-les-Bains in the Haute-Savoie region of France. I shot this magnificent pre-Alpine panorama in 2020, when furious winds had just blanketed the mountains with a thick layer of snow. A suspended moment in which the summits mid-altitude mountains turn into Himalayan colossi. In this black and white photograph, the Dent d'Oche is reborn at dawn, more beautiful than ever. Bathed in light and immaculately white.

I wanted to capture the mountain at its best. Like a whitened fin pointing skywards. I chose this panoramic format because it highlights the Dent d'Oche surrounded by its most valiant soldiers. Château d'Oche on the right and Pic Boré on the left. Their peaks also defy the heights. Next the same inclination and with the same momentum. The summits answer each other and, to a grandiose tune, seem to tell us the epic story of the high mountains. On the horizon, the Moléson peaks above Bulle and Gruyères, while on the right, the Fribourg Pre-Alps take on the appearance of an impassable wall. On the far right, the most famous mountains of bernese alps echo the splendour of the Dent d'Oche.

It was in contact with these summits pre-Alps that I came to know the mountains. I slept several times in tents at summit de la Dent d'Oche. To soak up the incredible panorama. But I'd never seen it before in such beautiful finery. Emerging from a sea of clouds like the most gigantic mountains. I was very lucky to be able to photograph her in this way, and I treasure this precious memory deep inside me. So I'll never forget to take my daughter to summit one day and show her this exceptional view of the Pre-Alps.