Gravy Train.
The Bugaboos.

An unfinished line.
A reason to return.

Jon had most of the new routing completed on Gravy Train and was heading back for the final push.

The route follows steep granite in the GAR Wall area of the Pigeon Feathers. Jon is one of the long-time route developers in the Bugaboos, and his connection to the range was a big part of the story I wanted to photograph.

The Bugaboos is my favourite alpine destination. Joining Jon for this climb was an opportunity to photograph him doing what he loves, in a place that matters to both of us.

Step back.
Show the scale.

On the first day, Jon climbed the route and rigged static lines for me to ascend the following morning.

I photographed from a distance with a long lens. That perspective placed the climbing within the granite walls, glaciers and peaks around it. Some of my favourite alpine climbing images came from those wider views.

Above the climbers.
Inside the story.

The next morning, I accompanied the team to the route and jumared the static lines, moving several pitches ahead of them.

Being in position above the climbers let me photograph down the wall, with the glacier and surrounding peaks behind them. The close views of hands, gear and movement complement the long-lens images from the previous day.

The climbing dictated how I worked. Rope access was what made these perspectives possible in an alpine setting.

The days around
the climb.

We spent several nights camped at East Creek, surrounded by some of the best landscapes in the range.

Camp, changing light and the weather moving across the towers were part of the trip too. One night, the aurora appeared above the peaks. Those photographs give the climbing story a sense of the time we spent there.