A pyramid of rock and ice, the Schreckhorn watches over its celestial kingdom. Rising to an altitude of 4,078 metres, it is one of the mythical mountains of the bernese alps. The Schreckhorn dominates Grindelwald and attracts attention like a magnet. That day, a storm was brewing. Clouds wrapped around the summit. Before my eyes, the mountain came alive, breathed, roared. The Schreckhorn began to smoke like a volcano.

I'd been dreaming for years of photographing the Schreckhorn in such conditions. The wait was long, but the reward was as high as my expectations. When the mountain appeared, surrounded by furious clouds, I realized that it was finally revealing itself in all its power. Nothing else existed: neither the valleys nor the world below. Only the Schreckhorn, master of the moment, reigned supreme.

I chose to depict him alone, without the presence of the Lauteraarhorn. I wanted to give it the whole scene, to pay it total homage. In black and white, the mountain gains in intensity. The deep contrasts reveal the texture of the rock, the strength of the movement of the clouds. It's like watching a monster awaken, a thousand-year-old creature confronting the heavens.

Each glance at this work reveals new details. Wisps of cloud seem to dance, shadows shift, light is reborn. In large format, the Schreckhorn comes to life, timeless and invincible. I conceived this portrait as a tribute to the soul of the mountain. To its immoderation, its indomitable beauty, its breath of eternity.