MÖNCH - JUNGFRAU : GENESIS

From nothingness springs light, and when chaos invades the sky, the mountain is reborn more powerful than ever. Tearing through the clouds as it pierces our souls. In the foreground of this dazzling work, the Jungfrau rises victoriously, supported a few metres further on by the Wengen-Jungfrau. Two summits in unison, chanting the grandeur of the Alps. One made of rock, the other of ice, they play with light and shadow to establish their presence. In the background, the Mönch echoes an age-old hymn to the queen of mountains and the wonder of nature. Of this illustrious triptych of bernese alps, only the Eiger is hidden in the mist, swallowed up, ogre that it is, by the appalling storm.

With gale-force winds battering the Swiss Alps in the middle of the day, I set off to meet Jungfrau and the Mönch, in the grip of the fury of the elements. Aboard a helicopter like on a ship, we face winds of over 120 km/h. We face the raging currents and try to get closer to summits. At times, we struggle to get closer, hoping to see these whitened colossi appear through the clouds. Just a few seconds of mad promise, an open window on the blaze of nature’s indomitable grandeur.

But the storm resists and the operation is tricky. Again and again, we reposition ourselves, braving the storm and banishing the deadly doubts from our minds. Until the moment arrives. That precise moment when Jungfrau and the Mönch reveal themselves to us, more striking than ever. But in these extreme conditions, will I be able to photograph them? Tossed about by the winds, will I be able to capture a clear image? Faced with the dance of the clouds, will I be able to focus perfectly? Once back on earth, I discover my work. And, my eyes filled with the beauty of the world, emotion overwhelms me. This is the picture I wanted to create, the sensations I wanted to convey. The strength and splendour of the fabulous mountains of bernese alps. A royal and universal apparition whose abstract beauty lifts us beyond ourselves. To faraway lands that touch our hearts. Fiery paradises that awaken us forever.

GRANDE JORASSE - AIGUILLE DU PLAN : YIN AND YANG

At dusk today there was fog. Covering the world in a silent screed. When from the depths of the sky rose the mountains. Swept by the fury of the winds, they point to the sky, grandiose and crystalline, to announce to the world that grace remains. May there reign in our hearts an ultimate power, a life force that cannot be tamed. Who, when she awakens, floods the universe with sublime truths and absolute beauty. Emergence of the peaks, dazzling life.

As the storm sweeps over the Alps, I set off to meet the mountains in a helicopter. Flying over the clouds, I watch for a sunny spell soon. The sun is about to set, but I remain hopeful, whatever the cost, I wait, ready to seize the moment. And when I approach the Mont Blanc massif, nature suddenly responds to my call. The sky clears, revealing the sovereign peaks before my amazed eyes. Sparkling and valiant, they stand tall, illuminated by the sun’s rays. So, I photograph them. The Grandes Jorasses on the horizon, carried by the shadow of the firmament, deep and vigorous. Only the ridge connecting the summits sparkles, like a path to infinity, like an unparalleled quest. The Aiguille du Plan, in front of the painting, is dazzling in its purity.

Sailing along a celestial ocean with magical reflections, the Yin and Yang of a wild nature capture our gaze. As the first lands appear at the origins of the world. As light is born out of darkness. This work resonates as a matter of course. The balance of the shapes, the simplicity of the lines. Abstraction is a carrier of emotion here. I am happy to offer you this unique painting, born from the perfect symbiosis between the breath of the winds and my artistic instinct.

BIANCOGRAT : ALPINE FAIRYTALE

Contemplation in front of the famous Biancograt which leads to summit du Pizzo Bianco (3993m); a passage to be taken before reaching Piz Bernina (4048m), summit the highest in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. This ice ridge is one of the most beautiful jewels in the Alps; however, due to the climatic conditions we are all experiencing, it is gradually disappearing.

This work was created after the storm. It has an enchanting look that leaves the viewer dreaming. A few flakes are still twirling in the sky; you can feel the icy breath of the wind and the power with which it slams the snow onto the face of this giant. With this shot, I wanted to offer the viewer a journey between light and shadow along this ridge. The residual clouds of this late storm rise up and lead us to summit , which transcends all human beings once reached. It is the power of the mountain to change us. When we spend time up there, we come down metamorphosed, changed; the very high mountain has this power. It draws out our true being, puts us to the test and reveals our truth.

I particularly like this west face, which emerges from the mist to reveal new edges, new pillars. When the ice has finally disappeared and we can no longer see the graceful curves of Biancograt, a new, steeper mountain will reveal itself. It’s my duty as an artist-photographer to immortalize the present, to offer the next generation the memory of what our Alps once were. These works will speak for themselves, they will tell mankind of the beauty of what we were once able to observe, experience and feel… these photos will be the memory of the morning crunch, so lyrical, of a tiny crampon tip venturing, trembling, into the human adventure at over 4000m altitude.

ALLALINHORN : FLAMING DIAMOND

What is this impetuous, gigantic mountain that proudly dominates the valley of Saas Fee ? The rough diamond of the Swiss Alps, so often trodden by man. With this unique and masterful work, I honour you, Allalinhorn the marvellous.

Poetic and moving, this black-and-white photograph highlights your inordinate power. The immensity of your north face and the purity of your features. Braving the fury of the winds, you stand up to the sun with all your strength. Setting the mist ablaze and striking our hearts. Egeria of the heights, like a torch illuminating the sky, you guide us to unsuspected lands. Beyond our fears and illusions.

I love to plunge my gaze into your sumptuous forms, to feed on your rock, to drink from your glaciers. The astonishing contrast of fire and ice. The confrontation of elements at the origin of life. Under the brushstrokes of a crazy nature, Allalinhorn, you take shape, fleeting and eternal. Fabulous mountain, by offering us this grandiose spectacle today, you are opening the way to a whole new world. The world of our freedom, abrupt and true. And as Brel sang in his day, we too dream of reaching the unattainable star. The quest of a lifetime.

THE DRUS : CELESTIAL MONUMENT

A grandiose and memorable portrait of Aiguille Verte and Les Drus. On this winter’s morning, a storm rages in the heart of the Alps. Listening to the mountains and watching for any turbulence, I feel that nature is calling me, beyond the squalls and snowfalls. So, my pilot and I take to the skies in a helicopter, hoping to embrace the evanescent beauty of the highest summits in the Alps. Man takes his chances, but nature alone decides what to offer. How do we make our way through the sea of clouds that fills the sky? How do we reach the longed-for realm of these celestial titans strewn with ice? With a beating heart and a fighting spirit, I wait for the winds to give me their verdict.

Suddenly, a window opens in the thick mist. We soar beyond the world to meet the Aiguille Verte and the Drus, which rise out of the clouds to touch the sky. A cathedral of crystal, flamboyant and gigantic, reigning over the Alps as it inspires my art. At summit, the Drus brandish a statue of the Virgin Mary, an elusive diadem, as an emblem of their immensity.

What a prodigious spectacle! What an imposing scene! The power of the Alps, the splendor of the Mont Blanc massif, bursts forth from this tableau. The sun illuminates the frost on the mountains. The soft, silvery contrasts that outline their contours endow the work with intense depth. The ultra-high definition of the photograph takes our gaze on a dizzying journey. Through the textures of its rock and snow, across the ridges and faults of its Aiguilles, the mountain reveals its magnificence. The moment is precious, yet ephemeral. Just a few minutes and the snow crumbles as the mist evaporates. This is where my quest takes on meaning. My works reveal the pure essence of summits, my photographs offer eternity to the fleeting glimmers of a fierce and overwhelming nature.

LYSKAMM : NEW WORLD

At summit Lyskamm , the fate of the world is at stake. Uncertainty of time and chaos of nature. I present here an exceptional work of art. In this black-and-white photograph, Lyskamm rises imposingly out of the Valais Alps. An impassable wall, its northern face rises up before our eyes. I was lucky enough to climb its 800-meter vertical drop in the summer of 2023. An unforgettable experience. At its foot, its gigantic glaciers show the first snows of a scorching summer. Grenzgletscher and Monte Rosa Gletscher have always fascinated me. Their sheer size and incredible beauty.

I took this magnificent photograph of Lyskamm in the early autumn of 2022. After a particularly dry summer, its glaciers opened up at unprecedented altitudes. Giving the Alps a new landscape. Where the ice had been intact, huge crevasses appeared, revealing unsuspected abysses in the mountainsides. Scars of a giant in the grip of warming weather. The paradox of a jewel of nature that draws its beauty from its worst sufferings. And which, with one last breath, urges the world not to forget it. That’s why I photograph Lyskamm and its hanging glaciers. To bear witness to their omnipotence and fragility. Their eternal splendour and ephemeral purity.

Shortly after the storm, the still-laden sky endows the picture with a fabulous dramatic intensity. The light caresses the glaciers, revealing their voluptuous relief. With its cracked shell and gaping cracks, the bleached mountain invites us on a journey to the heart of abstraction. Discover sumptuous textures and bewitching lines. From the apocalypse of the heights comes the most masterful of spectacles.

BREITHORN : GLACIAL IMPERMANENCE

Here is summit Breithorn , the mythical mountain of Zermatt. It peaks at 4160 m. In recent years, deep crevasses have appeared on the summit cap. It is certain that its shape will change rapidly as a result of global warming and the transformations of nature. Photographed in 2023, this work is an ode to this vanishing white beauty.

The photograph shows the massive layering of snow that forms the glacier. This abstract mille-feuille is of great beauty: the blackness of the rocks contrasts with the immaculate white of the ice, and the grey sky counterbalances the tones. The clean horizontal lines of the ice layers are lacerated by the imposing vertical crevasses. The succession of scorching summers now reveals monumental crevasses, whereas Breithorn used to be renowned for its gentle slopes.

The whole thing is still frozen at summit , but little by little, huge, century-old seracs will break away from the face and fall into nothingness. Nature has a way of creating unexpected shapes, then transforming and changing. This 4000-meter peak, considered one of the most accessible and easiest in the Valais Alps, could become increasingly dangerous and difficult to climb… beneath our feet, crevasses have been lurking and secretly awaiting the passage of climbers for centuries. With less and less snow covering them, even Breithorn is becoming a demanding climb.

I continue to be fascinated by these developments, which, it goes without saying, will become ever more violent and rapid in the future. This photograph, taken from the air, is not simply a snapshot of summit. It is a trace, a witness to the history of the Alps and to the history of mankind and its impact on nature. In a few years’ time, this work, like many others produced recently, will become an archive. My artistic work will become the memory of this age-old ice that is inevitably disappearing.

MONT-BLANC : REBIRTH

In early autumn, the echo of furious winds heralds the emergence of a legendary picture. The storm rages at summit du Mont-Blanc as the elusive rumor of a miracle to come sweeps across the Alps. Nature stops its deafening din and whispers. Rock trembles, snow shivers. Attentive to the sky’s movements, the Alps hold their breath. Suddenly, the moment of wonder arrives. The curtain rises on the Mont-Blanc massif. Between earth and sky, the mountain takes center stage, illuminated by the warm glow of the rising sun. To the rhythm of its crests and sharp peaks, it tells us its story. The dizzying story of a thousand-year-old world where titans of rock confront the stars. Where the elements collide and nature blazes, inaccessible to man, eternally indomitable.

Carried away by this marvellous spectacle, our gaze takes flight to meet the eastern face of the Mont-Blanc massif. Our journey begins to the right of the photograph, at summit du Mont-Blanc-du-Tacul. Then, from the Aiguilles du Diable, we reach Mont Maudit, which threatens the sky with its sinister horn. The impressive and sublime Kuffner ridge outlines the profile of this fabulous summit. Our steps then lead us to the summit of Mont Blanc, dressed for the occasion in regal finery. The snow covers it in a velvety coat of sparkling reflections, while a lenticular cloud crowns it with a fascinating crown. Our epic journey ends on the Aiguille blanche de Peuterey and along the Intégrale de Peuterey, the longest ridge in the Alps.

At dawn, the world of the heights seems reborn from chaos. Spreading their gigantic shadows, displaying their deep crevasses, the wild, crystalline mountains defy anyone to conquer them. In the heart of Mont-Blanc, colossi of rock and ice display their might. But no sooner does this fairytale air blow into our hearts, no sooner do we taste the splendor of the Alps, than the scene ends. A fleeting masterpiece of masterful nature. A few seconds of infinity before the clouds take hold of the Mont-Blanc massif once again. The curtain falls on the Alps, but the moment lives on forever in this unique, sumptuous work.

BIETSCHHORN AND WEISSHORN : BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

A magical, fleeting moment above the clouds. The Bietschhorn, king of the Valais, emerges in the foreground, followed by the Weisshorn, summit the highest in the imperial crown of Zinal. In this almost unreal photograph, these prominent summits of the Swiss Alps appear to be touching, even though in reality they are separated by several kilometers. Thanks to my telephoto lens and the focal length I chose, I was able to bring the mountains virtually closer together, giving the picture a marvellous, timeless dimension.

In this portrait of Bietschhorn and the Weisshorn, the contrasts are soft. This is how my work evolves over time. The confrontation of light and shadow gives way to the harmony of lighter tones. It’s a tricky artistic path to take when you want above all to convey the absolute power of the mountain. A challenge successfully met here, given the extraordinary atmosphere that emanates from the image.

That day, the clouds suddenly parted to reveal summits. A window onto the splendour of the high mountains. A moment of grace that lasted only a fraction of a second before the mist engulfed the rocks once again. In this dreamlike panorama, the two mountainous islands seem to float above the fog. Sublime nature in its untamed state, the absolute beauty of a mountain like no other, purity of line and perfect balance of the elements. What an incredible privilege to have been able to become one with nature to immortalize this sumptuous Alpine landscape!

This celestial beauty soothes me as much as it hypnotizes me. It inspires me for future climbs, just as it takes me back to my fondest memories of mountaineering. This photograph seems to come from another world. It invites us to dream and contemplate. If you look at it, it’s easy to imagine the birth of the universe, or the existence, light-years away, of a dazzling planet made of rock and ice. I am moved to have been able, through my art, to bring back from the world above this fragment of the infinite beauty of a nature that eludes us. Above the clouds, man is only welcome when the mountain and the elements so decide. Irrevocably.

MATTERHORN : MOUNTAIN SYMBOL

The north face of the Matterhorn is revealed to us, powerful and majestic. The famous mountain rises in the heart of the Valais Alps, dominating the valley of Zermatt, in Switzerland. It attracts visitors from all over the world. I’ve been photographing it for over ten years, tirelessly seeking to immortalize it in a new light. To succeed in conveying a particular emotion, in capturing a unique moment, an inspiring scene. Through my art, to reveal the different facets of her personality and sublimate the beauty of her forms. I feel connected to the Matterhorn and the mountain has, on many occasions, offered me fabulous, unforgettable moments that I convey through my work.

I painted this portrait of the Matterhorn in the spring of 2022, the only day in a frighteningly dry year for the Alps. During the scorching summer, Alpine glaciers lost an average of 6% of their mass. A real catastrophe. On this spring morning, snow has covered summit, restoring its infinite beauty for a few hours. I love this viewpoint, which is only accessible by helicopter, because of the scale it affords the Matterhorn. Firmly anchored to the ground, it can conquer the sky. Like an obelisk, this giant monolith impresses me as much as it moves me. Excessive, its perfect form imposes itself upon us. The very symbol of the high mountain, pure and indestructible, the Matterhorn never ceases to inspire me.