Tacul - Arete des Diables
The post-expedition month is always a blurr of work and trying to get re-adjusted to normal life. The latter gets easier and easier every time, but the former still takes as much time as you can afford it; expeditions don’t come cheap. But I’m lucky enough to enjoy my work and a shoot for Berghaus took us up on the most photogenic alpine arete I’ve ever done out here, the Diables Arete.
On paper the Diables arete doesn’t look too hard; a gendarmed granite ridge in a stunning location. But I’ve done it before and its got a reputation for sandbagging slower teams, so as a photo shoot it’s a bit of a challenge. But Berghaus’s emphasis on real climbing and serious locations is just what I love to shoot. After a couple of days of shooting general set up mixed stuff around Chamonix and the Midi, to get the bulk of the product shots out of the way, we got up at 2 am and headed off for the backside of the Tacul armed with the rest of the clothes to shoot.
Ben and Sandra under a half moon with Mont Blanc behind
Ben and Sandra arrive at the start of the Diables arete at sunrise
Brenva face of Mont Blanc in the background
Ben on the first crux gendarme of the ridge
The morning was cold, very cold, but it would mean a nice clear sunrise which is just what I was gunning for. Fearing snowy conditions, but finding perfect nevee, we made good progress up to the ridge itself and started the route proper. In short the route was slow as a 4, but the shots were awesome. The rock was cold and we rarely took off our crampons, electing to rock climb on monos due to snow on the ledges. All in all a great shoot, everyone worked super hard, the photos are top notch, and we even got hit by some very nasty weather on the summit to add to the day.
Racking up
One of the many raps….
Sandra on the crux pitch of the route
Ben and Sandra near the top of the route
Topping out from the arete and on to the final slopes to the summit
Nearly there, shame about the bad weather!
Summit!
Thanks for Ally, Ben and Sandra, for the huge effort and as usual Berghaus for allowing us to do such a cool photo project. Look out for the rest of the shots in next year’s clothing ads…
