The Story Behind The Image: “Crossing the Glacier de la Plaine Morte”.
Even though images are all around us, we rarely delve deeper into how an image came to be. As such, in this series, I share the stories behind some of my images.
This is an ongoing series of sharing the stories behind a selection of my images. Read the original post that kicked off the series (and with more background info) here.
I can just stare at the image above and get lost in my thoughts.
It tells such a profound story on its own.
Not necessarily of the obvious (ski tourers crossing a vast open space), but also of the not so obvious.
In other words, the non-visible.
For me, it also speaks / evokes feelings of a journey, determination, focused effort, teamwork, a bit of suffering - and of course, adventure.
But I digress.
I want to tell you about the story behind the image!
Not about the story the image tells (or feelings it evokes).
This image was made during our annual Easter ski tour, while crossing a glacier on our way to summit the Wildstrubel mountain peak.
That’s the short, boring story at least.
The reality is far more interesting.
So, how exactly did this image come to be?
Well, for that we have to go back in time two days.
You see, it was time for our annual Easter Ski Tour, arranged by our section of the Swiss Alpine Club (I wrote about our previous three day 2022 ski tour here). The first day is normally a skin up to a mountain hut, which serves as a spring board for the next two days of ski touring.
And that was the case this year (2023).
Then, on day two, the weather changed for the worse as a snow storm rolled in.
After some deliberation, we aborted our original plans for this day and instead headed directly for our day two overnight stop, the Wildstrubel Hut.
Conditions were challenging.
I managed to grab some movie clips with my phone, see below.
Thanks to an immense amount of local knowledge, combined with GPS technology, we managed to make it safely to the mountain hut.
After a good meal and rest, day three dawned absolutely perfect.
Not a cloud in the sky.
Fresh, fluffy powder snow.
Cold temperatures.
The weather (and the snow conditions) had us all excited as we crested the first ridge and caught a glimpse of the Plaine Morte glacier.
A short ski down onto it (this time in much better snow conditions than the last time) and it was time to put the skins back on for the traverse across to the Wildstrubel.
It was then when I noticed the potential for the image that is the subject of this post.
Seeing the skin track being made by my companions - and them as they moved along it - I realised this could be an opportunity to capture some images that evoke that sense of journey.
So I hung back a bit and let them skin ahead.
The fresh snow eliminated all distractions on the ground, leaving my subjects framed by the surrounding mountains and sky.
As they moved across my camera view finder, I managed to grab a few frames.
Then, as the emotion and excitement of making the images in that moment started to fade, I realised an important fact.
It was time for me to catch up!
So, you see, there is always more to an image than just the image itself. There is a whole story behind the visual four edged thing we see in front of us.
And that - the story behind the image - is what I find so fascinating.
That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed a little insight into the story behind the image!
Do you have any interesting stories behind your images?
Simply hit reply and let me know / comment below.
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Until next time ✌🏽.
Cornelius
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That image is wildly perfect as it captivates every particle of forgotten adventures and bringing it back into view. I look at it and I am nudged to dream about making the impossible, possible no matter my experience, skills or background.