Winter Climbing Photography

w i n t e r c l i m b i n g

p h o t o g r a p h y

Snow-covered approach to the Chambran icefalls, Ecrins Massif, France

Giles Cornah on ‘Prends Moi Sec’ (M8+), Ceillac, France

Ian Parnell in extremis dry tooling on Pyma (M9+), Valsavaranche, Italy

James Harrison high on the crux pitch of Davidoff, WI5, Fournel, France

The classic Patri de Gauche (WI 4), Valnotney (Cogne), Italy

Ice climbing world-cup finalist and Tim Emmett dry tooling at Valsavaranche, Italy

Paul Twomey on a WI 5 variation to Patri de Gauche, Valotney, Cogne, Italy

Tim Emmett ‘resting’ on an M9+ in Valsavaranche, Italy

Hot coffee is a crucial component of any winter climbing trip!

James Harrison on a thin-ice river crossing on the approach at Fressinieres, France

Giles Cornah on pitch 3 of Damocleas (250m, WI4+), Fournel, France

Giles Cornah on the cascades of Ailefroide, Massif des Ecrins, France

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLICK HERE TO BUY LIMITED EDITION PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

david pickford

-----------------

“in the early morning, when the storm ceased, we made the horizontal traverse of which cassin writes in his note. then two rappels landed us in the great central couloir. there a poorly-defined arete, sheltered from stonefall, lead to the summit. It was midday when we arrived, to meet two climbers who had come up the ordinary way on the south flank. After such struggle we rejoiced in the presence of other humans...”

- Gaston Rebuffat, from ‘Starlight and Storm’ (1954)

“During the next three hours i am aware of myself no more. I am one with space and time. Nevertheless i keep moving. Every time the blue sky shows through the thick clouds, i believe i see the summit, am there. But still there are snow and stones above me. The few rocks that rise out of the snow are greeny-grey, shot through here and there with brighter streaks. Ghostlike they stir in the wispy clouds... Where is the summit?”

- Reinhold Messner, on his 1980 first solo ascent of Everest (North Ridge) without oxygen, in ‘The Crystal Horizon’ (1989)

“Great God, this is an awful place.”

- Captain Robert Falcon Scott, from ‘Captain Scott’s Diaries’ (1912)

- ALL PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS GALLERY ARE FOR SALE -

- RIGHTS-MANAGED OR EXCLUSIVE-USE LICENSES PROVIDED -

- PLEASE VISIT OUR CONTACTS PAGE TO MAKE AN ENQUIRY -

david pickford