It was 6am in the morning and we were already climbing for a few hours to reach the summit of Mont Maudit by the Kuffner ridge. The ridge is the frontier between France and Italy and is considered one of the most beautiful mountaineering routes of the Mont Blanc Massif. Southeast oriented, the first lights of the day quickly lick the snow slopes with incredible colors leaving no photographer indifferent.
That day, one of my main objectives was to photograph “The Half Moon”, an iconic passage of the Kuffner. The curve of this snow ridge is perfect, offering an incredible line.
The problem in this kind of situation, as often in mountaineering, is the lack of distance to photograph. When you are on a ridge you can only move forward or backward. It’s rarely possible to move away from one side to the other to have a broader view. That’s why I chose to make a panoramic view by assembling a dozen images. I also noticed that the snow had ice crystals on its surface, a chance to bring matter to the foreground. We could almost hear the crunching sound of the crampons…
Marc Daviet

About the shot

Biography
Born in Annecy in the Haute-Savoie, where I still live, the French Alps have been my playground from a very young age. Skiing, snowboarding, climbing, mountaineering or caving, all these practices allowed me to appreciate nature and especially the mountains. Being a climbing instructor, an international route setter for competitions and former member of the French Climbing Team, I have a sound knowledge of this field, which allows me to have a particular look, that of an actor. When I'm behind the lens, I feel what makes the athletes vibrate. Taking pictures of climbing, mountaineering or skiing means, above all, spending long days together with athletes, sometimes in very difficult conditions. Unforeseen circumstances may arise anytime, during photo shoots, too; quite often, it is precisely then that the most beautiful images are shot, the ones with that little added zest, that piquancy which make them unique. Outdoor photography also equals to fabulous scenery, especially in the mountains, where light changes all the time. Ideally, you should be both a landscape and an action photographer. I am both. It's these moods, these little precious moments that I try to share through my pictures.