In the heart of the Mont Blanc massif, the Dôme de Rochefort stands like a dome of snow and ice, immaculate and sovereign. At an altitude of 4,015 metres, it stands guard between two worlds: to the east, the rocky fortress of the Grandes Jorasses , and to the west, the Aiguille de Rochefort and the Dent du Géant. Here, the mountain knows no borders: its ridge belongs as much to France as to Italy, linking Haute-Savoie to Val d'Aoste in the same majestic way.

On this particular day, the steep, black rock sentinels seemed to stand guard at the foot of the dome. The winter light revealed the purity of its curves, while the shadows accentuated the depth of the crevasses and hanging glaciers. The atmosphere was striking, as if the mountain itself were hesitating between revealing its grace or preserving its mystery.

The Dôme de Rochefort is a less famous summit than its illustrious neighbors, yet it embodies the high mountain in its most beautiful simplicity. For the mountaineer, it represents an essential step on the way to the Grandes Jorasses. For the contemplative, it's an invitation to silence and wonder, a landscape that stands on its own.

Photographing this moment was a rare privilege. I wanted to capture the contrast between the softness of the Dôme de Rochefort and the harshness of the ridges, between the glistening snow and the dark rock that protects it. For me, this picture is the very image of the fragile balance that inhabits the Alps: a union between strength and fragility, shadow and light, eternity and ephemerality.