Aperture First

Spiral

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:09 +0100

An accidental shot two days ago, which turned out better than most of the shots of the session. Oh well.

Sunrise

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:09 +0100

Nevado Chacraraju from the summit of Yannapaccha on the morning of a glorious day in the Cordillera Blanca.

Paris

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:04 +0100

Paris, seen from the Eiffel tower. I shot this back in 2007, when I briefly moved to that great city.

Camp

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:14 +0100

Our camp at the AAC International Climbers Meet 2009, in the climbing mecca of Indian Creek, not too far from Moab. I wish I was there right now.

Man vs Mountain

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:52 +0100

Xavier above the seracs du Geant, in Chamonix.

Icing on the cake

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:20 +0100

A very cold view of the Rjukan valley, in Norway.

Oily sea

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:35 +0100

Flying over a calm sea as the sun sets, somewhere in the Galapagos. A bird dream, I guess.

Reef

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:06 +0100

What better way to enjoy the gorgeous Galapagos islands than at sunset on a sailboat?

40 feet corner

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:28 +0100

Keith on the 40 feet corner, one of the two cruxes (with the mantrap) of the infamous North East Buttress of Ben Nevis. As long as there is ice, the climbing is fairly easy, but it is quite difficult to protect, so a fall would not be advisable.

Londonian Crowd

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:02 +0100

A crowd to the image of the city itself, on Waterloo Bridge.

Moonrise

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:07 +0100

The north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul seen from the refuge des cosmiques, a few minutes before this

Belay

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:49 +0100

Tim Howell reaching the belay of the crux pitch of a 100m route in the gorges de la jonte.

Inca

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:15 +0100

Maybe not the highest mountain, but certainly one of the most famous: Wayna Picchu, with some of the ruins of Machu Picchu in the foreground.

Wheel

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:30 +0100

It shouldn't be too hard to guess which city this was taken in...

Highway

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:48 +0100

Sometimes, the Vallee Blanche can get a tad crowded, as here just below the Seracs du Geant.

Snowdonia's edge

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:03 +0100

This was shot from a Welsh mountain, above the Black Ladders. It shows how quickly the ground becomes very flat, just next to 1000m high mountains and deep valleys. Kind of weird. I wish they did the same in Denmark!

On an unrelated note, I have now put some wallpapers online, go check them out!

Liquid gold

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:50 +0100

Details from the glorious sunset in the Lake district.

Room with a view

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:01 +0100

From my far too brief stay in the Alaska range... The view was indeed hard to beat, though room service could have used some improvement.

The cast

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:26 +0100

Taking a walk in Hyde Park... I don't know why the long faces on such a beautiful summer evening.

Scafell sunrise

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:20 +0100

The sunrise on the Lake district which we had come to see, but had been robbed off by a very misty summit... At least we got some light effects on the way down!

Space

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:16 +0100

It's been a while since I posted images from Lappland (probably because I haven't been there for three years now...). Here's an oldie from 2006.

Highlands

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:22 +0100

The Scottish Highlands and Glencoe seen from the top of Stob Coire nan Lochan.

Flying

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:22 +0100

Will below the crux roof of Flying Buttress Direct.

Ocean of concrete

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:52 +0100

Now that I have a more powerful computer, I was able to finally process this giant panorama of NYC from the top of 30 Rock: 81 images, 255 megapixels... You can see people inside the Empire State Building!

Pastel

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:06 +0100

Details from the land as seen from the top of Mont Saint-Michel.

Skyline

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:56 +0100

A climber below the final buttress of Stob Coire nan Lochan, in Glencoe.

The eye

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:46 +0100

The famous London Eye, on the Thames bank. This was shot with my new camera, the Panasonic GH1. Its main use is going to be video, but it's nice to know it can do good stills too!

Foothills

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:49 +0100

Flying into the Alaska Range, and getting our first glimpse of the magnificent mountains from our tiny Twin Otter.

On a sidenote, this was shot almost exactly two years ago. Time flies.

A clear goal

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:25 +0100

James below the central piton of Aiguille du Midi. We were only a third or so up the route, which should give an idea of how short it really was!

Low tide

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:48 +0100

Adam on one of the best limestone sport crags in the UK, in Llandudno. Unfortunately, it is tidal, and by the time we had walked to the base and racked, the water was bathing our ankles, so we opted for a strategic retreat across the beach...

Long way down

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:02 +0100

Gareth on the upper part of the rather long Comes the Dervish. A good head for heights is required.

Warmth

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:13 +0100

One of the many glorious sunsets I was lucky to witness during my short stay in the Lake District. Perhaps the most beautiful corner of England?

Lakes

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:34 +0100

In the aptly named Lake District, descending from the highest mountain of England, Scafell Pike.

Speed

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:03 +0100

Mountain biking is a fairly new subject to me, but I like its potential for being so energy laden. Here in Kendal, in the Lake District.

Off I go

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:02 +0100

Myself starting on the crux pitch of Vector (E2 5c), which goes up the fin on the upper right hand side of the image.

Photo by Gareth Leah.

Lunch

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:01 +0100

Action shot on the Brehat island.

Welsh

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:00 +0100

Gareth on the upper part of Comes the Dervish, with the slate museum and the (very green) mountains of Wales in the background.

Vertical

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:58 +0100

Details from a crane in the harbour of Paimpol.

Tower

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:56 +0100

I shot this from the slate mines of Llanberis, looking into the pass. I am not too sure what the purpose of this tower was, maybe as a military post?

Balneaire

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:55 +0100

Tourists on the beach in front of the fortified city of Saint Malo, in Bretagne.

Balance

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:52 +0100

Gareth on his onsight of the delicate slab of Comes the Dervish (E3 5c), in Llanberis, North Wales.

Time

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:16 +0100

A giant hourglass in one of the dimly lit rooms of the Abbaye of Mont Saint-Michel. Maybe a countdown to final judgment day?

Crux

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:15 +0100

James above the crux roof on the Rebuffat route of Eperon des Cosmiques. We had expected to have to aid it, but it went surprisingly easy at around VS.

Pastel

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:14 +0100

Flying above the sands of the Mont Saint-Michel bay.

High key

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:06 +0100

Another view of Nevado Pucajirca from Punta Union.

Bretagne

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:14 +0100

The gorgeous view from the highest point on the Brehat island.

Escape

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:40 +0100

Details from a low-tide anchor on the île de Brehat, near Paimpol, in the Bretagne region of France.

Wheels

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:57 +0100

Marshalls of the Wednesday Night Skate through London, here on the Thames bridge between Temple and Waterloo.

Buttress

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:55 +0100

A short snow walk to connect the Arete des Cosmiques from the Rebuffat route on the Eperon des Cosmiques, as the weather suddenly turned.

Punishment

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 23:53 +0100

After illicitly eating something disgusting on the street, the punishment doesn't usually last too long...

Will

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:51 +0100

In true British fashion, Will's first route on grit was a solo, here at Higgar Tor.

Cityscape

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:49 +0100

Shot near Tower Bridge, with the city in the background.

Cosmiques

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:18 +0100

No less than 7 climbers can be seen on this image, climbing the famous Arete des Cosmiques.

Nina

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:00 +0100

Nina, untidy poodle and beloved dog, who turned 10 last winter.

Upward

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 23:41 +0100

Rune on the crux of Great North Road.

Central piton

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:50 +0100

James on a joke climb between the Cosmiques platform and the central piton of Aiguille du Midi, which allowed us to bypass the 3€ for the lift and to not totally lose the day to bad weather.

Guard

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:58 +0100

This nice fellow was standing guard next to the cafe, just before the farmer's market on the Lyon docks.

The crow

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:18 +0100

An unlikely visitor on the central piton of Aiguille du Midi, with Mont Blanc du Tacul in the back.

Hanging by a thread

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:15 +0100

I shot this while bored in the Aiguille du Midi cablecar station on the second morning, as we had to cancel our plans to go climb a rock route on the south face of the Pointe Lachenal because of (obviously) terrible weather...

Blue sky

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:07 +0100

Sonnie Trotter and Andrew Burr in Indian Creek.

Victory

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:51 +0100

James on top of the Rebuffat route of the Eperon des Cosmiques, rightfully jubilant after completing such a beautiful route.

Tough skates

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:07 +0100

A participant to London's Wednesday Night Skate.

Black and White

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:07 +0100

The gorgeous view of the Aiguilles de Chamonix, and the Aiguille Verte in the background.

Desert colours

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 23:51 +0100

Autumn view of Indian Creek, near Moab, Utah.

First pitch

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:47 +0100

James on the first pitch of the Rebuffat route. The crux of the route probably was managing to put our rock shoes on without getting them wet (I failed miserably), and the most dangerous bit was the high tension lines not too far away from the granite face...

Prayer

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:32 +0100

A japanese climber above the crux of the Arête des Cosmiques, as the weather was obviously taking a turn for the worse. Luckily, we had already bagged the gorgeous Rebuffat route on the Eperon des Cosmiques in dry-ish conditions earlier that day.

Island

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:47 +0100

The gorgeous view from the top platform of the Aiguille du Midi, shortly after the storm.

Kneebar

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:59 +0100

Will on the only proper rest of the route, a kneebar about a third of the way up The Rasp.

Phallic

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:59 +0100

No offense to Mr. Nelson, but the symbolic here is pretty clear...

Slopper

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:57 +0100

Rune on the first route of the first day of our trip, a Severe on the leaning block of Higgar Tor.

No entry

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:56 +0100

I snapped this while coming out of Waterloo station and ended up really liking this scene.

Karin

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:55 +0100

Karin following pitch 2 of Raeburn's Route on Stob Coire nan Lochan.

Double wheel

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:54 +0100

The view from Jubilee bridge, with the London Eye and Big Ben in the background.

Pull test

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:20 +0100

Checking a piece of protection in the beautiful quarried gritstone of Millstone.

Belay

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:37 +0100

A few minutes later, having topped out, Rune was belaying Will in front of a very English landscape of the Hope Valley.

Onsight

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:59 +0100

Rune examining the crux of Great North Road.

In a hurry

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:50 +0100

Shot from the hip on Oxford Street.

The Rasp

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:36 +0100

Will on the super steep The Rasp (E2 5c), at Higgar Tor. Neither he nor I could finish the climb, unfortunately.

Open

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:37 +0100

A London cafe, near Covent Garden, and attempt at manual focusing with shallow depth of field (not as easy as I had hoped...).

English climbing

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:58 +0100

Rune again, trying his luck on Flying Buttress Direct, in Stanage.

Chalking up

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:23 +0100

Rune chalking up a hold on the upper section of the gorgeous "Great North Road" (HVS 5a), in the gritstone quarry of Millstone.

Arete

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:29 +0100

The very same Dave from Tower Ridge, finishing the wonderful last pitch of "The Fratricide Wall" (HVS 5a), in Wales.

Diagonal

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:27 +0100

The side of the building of Queen Mary University where I am currently working, in East London.

Last view

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 23:25 +0100

The last view of Chopicalqui from moraine camp. It was still hard to believe that a few hours earlier, I had stood up there!

Green Curry

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:24 +0100

Certainly my favorite bit of London: Borough market, an amazing place where to have lunch or buy food at the end of the week.

Fixed line

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:24 +0100

Sol downclimbing a small section in the cragging sector of "Les Patates", where we spent our first day of climbing in the Gorges de la Jonte.

Rainbirds

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:20 +0100

Having fun with my new lens, the superlative Nikon 16-35 f/4. Those birds seemed pretty happy about the rain downpour...

Slate mine

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:15 +0100

Last Friday in Wales, the weather was too poor to do any serious climbing, so we instead went exploring into the old slate mines of Snowdonia, of which those buildings were the (now condemned, but still practicable) entrance. Good fun.

Carbolani

Mon, 31 May 2010 23:22 +0100

Waterloo train station.

Bus Stop

Sun, 30 May 2010 23:20 +0100

Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, in London.

Le cirque des vases

Sat, 29 May 2010 23:19 +0100

Taken on the descent from the "Block décollé", the 100m high pillar on the left of the image. Two days earlier, I had scaled the "Vase de Sèvres", visible in the background.

Workers

Fri, 28 May 2010 23:16 +0100

I was attracted to this scene in Camden by the geometric shape of the lifting platform. I think it works quite well in black and white.

Cafe

Thu, 27 May 2010 23:44 +0100

Street scene in Camden, London.

Oppressive

Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00 +0100

The Cuillin Ridge, seen from its southern end.

Time to fly

Tue, 25 May 2010 23:07 +0100

Waterloo station, today. Shot entirely on manual, including focus and exposure, an interesting experiment inspired by Thom Hogan.

Gritstone

Tue, 25 May 2010 00:41 +0100

Iona placing gear on the beautiful gritstone of Heaven Crack, at Stanage.

Evening mountaineering

Sun, 23 May 2010 22:43 +0100

Descending the Ben Nevis tourist route after a wonderful climb up Tower Ridge, last February.

Fighting back

Fri, 21 May 2010 22:36 +0100

Some of the COP15 demonstration, where cops made generous use of pepper spray.

Right bearing

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:33 +0100

In the laguna below Mt Lascar, in the Atacama desert of Chile.

Up there

Wed, 19 May 2010 23:52 +0100

Hikers near the summit of Tryfan, while we were reaching the last pitch of Grooved Arete.

Selective

Tue, 18 May 2010 23:40 +0100

I would usually be the guy on top of that mountain...

Dance of the cranes

Mon, 17 May 2010 23:40 +0100

The urban version of the age-old dance of the cranes, on the busy Thames riverside.

Morning

Sat, 15 May 2010 23:08 +0100

I started at 2am for my Cuillin Ridge attempt, which allowed me to witness a gorgeous morning on the Atlantic ocean and the mountains. Skye magic.

Harder than it looks

Fri, 14 May 2010 23:06 +0100

Stob Coire nan Lochan, on the final part of the approach. We went pretty much straight up that stuff. And it's actually a fair bit higher than it may appear on the photo!

Gabbro

Fri, 14 May 2010 00:06 +0100

Gabbro, the unique type of rock found on the Cuillin ridge of Skye, also happens to be one of the roughest known to man. Which made abseiling on 6mm cord a little bit scary...

Human spider

Thu, 13 May 2010 00:10 +0100

Spiderman is so has-been...

Skye at a glance

Tue, 11 May 2010 23:45 +0100

I spent last weekend in the Isle of Skye, up in Scotland, as I was trying to climb the infamous Cuillin ridge in a day. This would have been quite an achievement, and I was actually making good time and having great weather (the trickiest part of any attempt) until I unfortunately rolled and sprained my ankle. It's not too bad, but it will mean reduced climbing in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, enjoy this quintessential view of Skye: mountains, the ocean, angry clouds, wilderness... An amazing place indeed!

Ethereal

Mon, 10 May 2010 19:18 +0100

A sub-summit of Mt Foraker showing through the mist on the Pica glacier, Alaska Range.

Heaven Crack

Sun, 09 May 2010 22:50 +0100

Iona on the gorgeous VDiff Heaven Crack, Stanage.

TAT

Sat, 08 May 2010 21:48 +0100

The bush plane of Talkeetna Air Taxi, about to take us in the Alaska Range for the next 12 days... Happy times!

Big Wall

Fri, 07 May 2010 18:36 +0100

Two different parties on the Vases sector of the Gorges de la Jonte, tackling beautiful multi-pitch routes.

Stanage

Wed, 05 May 2010 23:27 +0100

Probably the most famous crag of England, if not the UK: Stanage, home to the unique gritstone of the Peak District.

This was shot two days ago, in a crazy day which alternated bright sunshine and hailstorms every twenty minutes!

Cutting Loose

Tue, 04 May 2010 22:26 +0100

Myself on the ultra-classic (and ultra-steep) Flying Buttress Direct (E1 5b), in the Peak District.

With the birds

Mon, 03 May 2010 23:52 +0100

On the last pitch of La Gueule du Look, about to top on the Rocher Decolle. The vultures were circling over our heads, perhaps a sign we could have climbed in better style?

Descent

Sun, 02 May 2010 23:51 +0100

Descending from the summit of Stob Coire nan Lochan.

Vulture

Sat, 01 May 2010 23:48 +0100

One of the many vultures which were reintroduced in the Gorges de la Jonte a few years back. Certainly creates a special atmosphere for the climbs!

Focus

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:46 +0100

I don't know his name, but he proceeded to climb a very long F6c in brilliant style, with only a couple of falls. Very impressive!

A view to die for!

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:37 +0100

From the top of the second pitch of "Aquo Es Quicon", a difficult offwidth (is there any other kind?), way undergraded at F6a. Neil is seen following, 40-odd meters below.

Lush

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:25 +0100

The Mesquita, in Cordoba, back in December 2007.

Dichotomy

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:10 +0100

On London's Millenium Bridge, with Tate Modern in the background.

Family trip

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:04 +0100

Taking your kid on a 100m multipitch climb (the famous Le Bitard, 5b 5b 5c 5a) is one hell of a family trip, if you ask me. It certainly beats going to the zoo!

Fairytale

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:40 +0100

Le Rozier, the small village where we were staying, seen from the top of a cliff in the Gorges de la Jonte. Straight out of a fairytale!

So close

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:19 +0100

Gaelle Romand on a long F6c in the gorges du Boffi.

Crossing

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:30 +0100

Small excerpt from a Welsh landscape, taken near Tremadog.

Rightwing

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:23 +0100

Funny scene with Amigo & Voilà, the two dogs from the lovely camping des Peupliers, where we stayed for the week.

Overhang

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:41 +0100

Raymond Gaetan on a gorgeous 7c (read: insanely hard) climb in the Boffi.

Dots of red

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:10 +0100

Neil and Sol on the single pitch crag of les Patates, in the Reverend sector of the Gorges de la Jonte. This was shot from the gorgeous Capluc promontory, with a view on both the Jonte and the Tarn.

P1

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:14 +0100

On the (very long) 5c first pitch of "La gueule du look", a route on the south face of the Bloc Decolle monolith, in the gorges de la Jonte.

La grosse et le vampire

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:31 +0100

Tim Howell on La Grosse et le Vampire (F6a+), in the Gorges de la Jonte, where I am just coming back now.

Up

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:15 +0100

The crux of a route is often the approach, especially after a poor night with water insidiously leaking inside my bivy bag...

Winter chaos

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:14 +0100

Strange patterns at the border between spring and winter, up Stob Coire nan Lochan.

So close

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:11 +0100

The crux is to get established on the overhanging feature, but a fall before clipping the quickdraw would result in a nasty swing...

Head on

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:09 +0100

Headed up the Central Buttress of Stob Coire nan Lochan.

Glencoe

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:06 +0100

To think I almost left my camera in the car when I geared up for the day in Stob Coire nan Lochan, as I felt so tired and the weather looked terrible...

Mixed

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:05 +0100

Karin mixed climbing on the third pitch of Raeburn's Route. I think I'm now addicted to that form of climbing...

Snow White

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:03 +0100

Keith on the (frankly, terrible) CMD approach to North-East Buttress on Ben Nevis. The weather got a little bit better as we climbed higher, but it still felt very winterly...

Gnarly

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:58 +0100

The route is not over until you have clipped the anchors... Shot in The Reach, London.

Packed

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:56 +0100

After the snowfall and drop in temperatures, Stob Coire nan Lochan was a popular destination last weekend!

Central Buttress

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:52 +0100

The central buttress of Stob Coire nan Lochan. Raeburn's route starts smack in the center in the obvious groove, goes straight up for a pitch then traverses right to the left-leaning ridge and follows it to the summit.

Brotherhood of the rope

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 23:50 +0100

Another ropeteam on their way up Stob Coire nan Lochan, on the snow slopes below the actual route.

1115m

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:59 +0100

360 degrees panorama of all of Glencoe and Lochaber from the 1115m high top of Stob Coire nan Lochan.

Shot in 33 photos last Sunday, after climbing Raeburn's Route (IV,4).

Teacher

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:05 +0100

Gareth teaching Charles the very useful backpack coil after a day of cragging in Tremadog.

As the crow flies

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:04 +0100

Shot from the summit of Tryfan.

Between Adam and Eve

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:01 +0100

On the very top of Tryfan, there are two big boulders, nicknamed Adam and Eve. An old tradition is for the climber to jump from one to the other, something not really difficult but quite scary as there are big drops if you miss... I did it just a few minutes later, and it was a nice conclusion to leading the 8 pitches of Grooved Arete.

Offshore

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:59 +0100

Some offshore wind turbines on the Welsh coast, seen from the summit of Tryfan.

Nightfall

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:59 +0100

Still high on Tryfan, but with only a short descent ahead before we could reach hot food.

Bog

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:40 +0100

Details of the valley floor from high on Grooved Arete.

Mountain portrait

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:23 +0100

Gareth on Sunday morning. In the background, Tryfan and the route we climbed to its summit the previous day, 8 pitches ultra-classic Grooved Arete.

Tremadog

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:08 +0100

Snowdonia seen from the crags of Tremadog, in North Wales. We were really, really lucky with the weather!

Exposure

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:21 +0100

Amos again, on one of the fun routes of the Reach.

Ballet

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:19 +0100

A Galapagos mockingbird on the white sand of the Galapagos.

Peak

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:17 +0100

After a glorious day of bouldering in the Peak District.

Democracy Copenhagen

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:48 +0100

A storm was brewing above Copenhagen, last December...

From a dream

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:42 +0100

Xavier below the Periades, above Vallee Blanche.

Artesonraju

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:43 +0100

Artesonraju, more famously known as the Paramount mountain, seen from Alpamayo basecamp.

Ice climbing

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:10 +0100

Closer shot of the team on Compression Crack, two weeks ago on Ben Nevis.

Cotopaxi

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:46 +0100

Cotopaxi, one of the highest mountains of Ecuador. We mountainbiked down its slopes for a whole day, and it was one of the most fun things I've ever done!

Desperate bridging

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:44 +0100

Amos on a hard route inside the newest climbing gym in London, The Reach.

Softland

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:42 +0100

View of Lochaber from high on Ben Nevis, just after completing Castle Ridge.

Hatun Machay

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:48 +0100

Hatun Machay, a most surprising place in Peru. Facing the Huayhuash range, a "forest of stones" petrified in the middle of nowhere. And a lot of great sport climbing, above 4000m!

Crowd

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:53 +0100

The Reclaim Power demonstration of COP15, last December, before the police started being violent.

Intense

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:49 +0100

One of the many inhabitants of Central Park, in NYC. This was shot minutes before having the best lunch of my life, at Jean-Jacques, a 3 Michelin stars restaurant.

Hard grit

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:24 +0100

Jon Fulwood on the famous English gritstone of the Peak District, and a very hard small route/high boulder problem.

The reason I was in the Peak yesterday was that I attended Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, where I took part in the Adventure Shot photo competition, judged by (among others), Ian Parnell, one of the best UK climbers and photographers. Five of us had to present a video slideshow of our images, and I am very glad to report that mine, Why do we climb?, was awarded the first prize! If you have 4 minutes to lose, I'd love to know what you think of it.

Small

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:11 +0100

A team on Compression Crack (V,5), near Castle gullies. No matter what we want to believe, we are really, really small.

Thief

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:09 +0100

High risk, but high gains: stealing a sea lion's dinner.

Awkward Chimney

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:59 +0100

From the top of the first crux on Castle Ridge, looking down at another party following us. The climb was very well protected (making any fall likely to be short and safe), but exposed and a bit sketchy at times.

Lava

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:53 +0100

Details of solidified lava on the very volcanic Galapagos islands.

Sunburn

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:42 +0100

Crazy Scottish weather, once more. We had the good surprise to top out on Castle Ridge under a glorious sun, a rarity in Scottish winter climbing. And then, we realized that we had a long snowplod to the true summit and had almost run out of water...

Alpine start

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:49 +0100

On our way to the north face of Ben Nevis, at around 6am. We had arrived at the car park at 3:30, and had to get up at 4:30... Short night, but being on the route at sunrise is the safest thing to do in winter.

Mixed

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:24 +0100

I just spent another weekend of winter climbing in Scotland, and this is Ben soloing some of the easy mixed ground at the bottom of Castle Ridge, on Ben Nevis again.

Untouched

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:17 +0100

Xavier in front of the virgin slopes of Vallee Blanche, and the gorgeous massif of the Aiguille Verte.

Snowdon slopes

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:14 +0100

About a third of the way up Snowdon, this is where we got off the trail and where the proper climb started. We then took a left turn into Ladies Gully at the point where the highest climber on the photo stands.

Ramp

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:33 +0100

Details of Millenium Bridge across the Thames, in front of Tate Modern.

Belay

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:27 +0100

A climber building a belay on Vemorkbrufossen Vest, Rjukan.

Lifeline

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:58 +0100

Ominous skies on the descent from Chopicalqui.

'beth

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:00 +0100

Fittingly shot just outside Shakespeare's Globe Theater, on the banks of the Thames.

Backcountry

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:46 +0100

My very first experience of backcountry skiing, an attempt at salvaging the day after bad conditions shattered our hopes of alpine climbing. After struggling upwards for maybe 45 minutes, my skins finally decided not to stick anymore and, with no way to go up, we skied down back to the Vallee Blanche.

Contrast

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:45 +0100

Interesting urban scene snapped as I was walking out of Tate Modern, yesterday.

Brévent

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:03 +0100

Brévent, on the other side of the Chamonix valley, in full winter dressing.

Spindrift

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:09 +0100

Showing the terrible conditions on the Arête du Midi last week, with lots and lots of wind and temperatures below -19°C (-4°F). Having crampons on, it took me only a couple of minutes to get down the arête, but this was enough to feel any exposed skin get way too cold. I'm glad we didn't have to climb in those conditions!

Unified Front

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:22 +0100

Shot on the pedestrian bridge across the Rhône river, about 200m from the house where I grew up.

Sorry for the absence of post yesterday, I spent most of the night being stuck in an airport, then stuck on a plane, then stuck at a train station, then stuck at a bus stop...

In my own universe

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:22 +0100

Xavier skiing above the seracs du Geant, on our Vallee Blanche descent. I did the same, except with many more landings on my ass...

Hostile

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:49 +0100

This is what the east face of Mont Blanc du Tacul looked like on Saturday. Temperatures below -20C, 40 to 60 km/h of wind and awful ice conditions... We (wisely) decided to cancel our ascent and ski down Vallee Blanche instead!

The stuff of dreams

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:51 +0100

Skiers waiting for the cablecar which will take them to the top of Aiguille du Midi, showing through the mist, for a Vallee Blanche descent.

Today's image is very special, it marks a milestone for Aperture First: it is the 1000th photo posted here! I started this in April 2007, as my interest in photography was growing. Since then, there has been almost a photo every day, and this blog has become part of my daily life. Judging by the statistics, I am not the only one :)
To celebrate, I have gone back in the archives and selected a single picture for each month. It is not necessarily the most beautiful nor the most popular, but simply the one I like best. Here is the resulting gallery, consisting of 35 pictures: A Thousand Images Retrospective.

Graffitis

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:00 +0100

Another of the street shots the Pen has allowed me to take, this one on one of the bridges above the Rhone river, in Lyon.

Ladies gully

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:52 +0100

The top part of easy gully, on Snowdon. Jim had just led the crux, a lovely rock step with perfect plastic ice, and I took the lead from here to the summit, putting only one piece of pro in an entire rope length.

Peniches

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:10 +0100

Shot in my hometown of Lyon, yesterday.

Admiring Snowdonia

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:31 +0100

Jim, my partner in crime last weekend, admiring the view from the top of the Black Ladders that we had just climbed.

British summit

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:21 +0100

This particular shot was taken near the summit of Snowdon, but it could have been any of the mountains I've climbed in the UK...

Snowdon

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:59 +0100

After getting to the top of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of Scotland, it was only natural that I would do the same with the highest of Wales, Snowdon, standing at a lofty 1085m. I did so yesterday, in the company of Jim, and using one of the fun gullies (ours was called Ladies Gully and is just out of sight on the right side of the mountain). Of course, whiteout on the top... I'm starting to believe that British summits have something to hide.

Curved Ridge

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:00 +0100

Dave on Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor, a much easier route than the previous day's Tower Ridge. The crux of the route is not very far, on the top left of the image.

And by the way: this is a colour image!

Moving Up

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:00 +0100

Dave takes the lead after a technical rock step on Tower Ridge. By Scottish standards, the weather was amazing (though it didn't last, unfortunately).

Scottish feathers

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:00 +0100

Some of the amazing and unique snow formations found in Scotland. This was shot very close to the summit of the famous Buachaille Etive Mor, the guardian of Glen Coe.

Approach

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:11 +0100

On the approach, shortly before the Douglas Boulder. In the background, the much harder Observatory Buttress.

Douglas Boulder

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:46 +0100

Dave coming up after the first pitch to get up the Douglas Boulder. It was my first real alpine lead and ended up being even scarier than I thought. But I loved it. Of course.

Rime

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:43 +0100

This is what the north face of Ben Nevis looked like... plastered!

Puny human

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:22 +0100

I am just coming back from a weekend of amazing winter climbing in Scotland. We managed to climb both Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis and Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor. On this shot, Dave stands in front of one of the difficulties of Tower Ridge, shortly after the start. Lots and lots of snow, which made the climbing a fair deal harder than normal!

Condensation

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:33 +0100

One of the windows of my new place in London...

Caravan

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:30 +0100

Mules and horses carrying loads from hikers on the very popular Santa Cruz trek. And in the background, the fearsome Nevado Taulliraju.

Chatter

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:30 +0100

Shot almost two years ago with my since deceased Nikon FA, in the streets of Copenhagen.