Climbers on the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France by Yvette J. Meijer

About "Climbers on the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France"

by Yvette J. Meijer

About the artwork

The Aiguille du Midi is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif. It is located right next to Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. The summit of the Aiguille du Midi is the highest point you can reach in Europe by cable car. From the summit you have a magnificent view of Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains, including many three- and four-thousanders on the border of France and Italy.

However, the climbers in this photo did not take the cable car and are now at an altitude of 3800m. They are almost at the summit. Far above the tree line, the rugged and impressive landscape consists only of rocks and ice. Equipped with climbing gear and warm clothing, they have walked up on a hot summer day, where it is around freezing. They walk the last bit quietly up into the thin air.

I would like to climb Mont Blanc myself someday. My partner has already done so. Mont Blanc is another 1000m higher than the Aiguille du Midi. Perhaps that is why I will climb the Aiguille du Midi first.

In this photo I wanted to capture the essence of the landscape , the conditions and the ordeal of the climbers. At that height, you can't ignore the view. Everything around you is grand and forces you to see yourself in that perspective. I can however imagine that during such a climb, sometimes you only have eyes for what is in front of you. Snow, ice, and rocks. Watch out for the crevasses and climb up step by step. That is what I wanted to portray with this photo.