EXTREME PHOTOS OF THE WEEK XIII

Extreme Photo of the Week
By National Geographic, 30 January 2014.

See new extreme adventure photos each week featuring tips from your favourite athletes and photographers. And get the stories behind the shots.

1. Snowboarding Near Zermatt, Switzerland

Getting the Shot

“I really love moments when nothing is planned and then moments later you have captured something great,” says photographer Tero Repo. Repo has been photographing in Zermatt, Switzerland, frequently over the past few years, working with local guide and skier Samuel Anthamatten and pioneering snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue. “I think every time we shoot near Zermatt with Xavier and Samuel, we get good results,” Repo says.

"This was one of those lines that just happened without a reason. The boys thought that it was good idea to hit that couloir. A few minutes after, I was shooting it. The next step was to shoot from a heli,” where Repo captured this photograph.

“My first thought was, Really? But knowing Xavier, I was comfortable to watch him through my camera,” recalls Repo. The terrain was Repo’s biggest challenge, and he managed balancing the line’s exposure, which was variable due to seracs overhanging the couloir. “It is hard to fight against Mother Nature, and you know you will lose that battle if you are not careful.”

Repo photographed from a helicopter with a Canon 5D Mark III and a 28-70mm, f/2.8 lens.

2. Ice Climbing Fearful Symmetry, Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Canada

Getting the Shot

"When we arrived at the base of the pillar, there was another group with us who took one look and decided, 'No thanks, that's above our pay grade,' " recalls photographer Forest Woodward, who took this shot of ice climber Graham Zimmerman in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta. "I actually wasn't aware of the ephemeral nature of the Fearful Symmetry route until we arrived in Canmore. Everyone spoke of it with a sort of reverence," says Woodward.

The group tackled a rough drive in Ghost Valley to make it to an area called Recital Hall, where this rare, icy route had formed. “I understood immediately why the route commands such respect," Woodward recalls.

The team faced a tough climb in, and Woodward fought snow devils coating his gear in fine, frozen snowy dust. “The added challenge of managing gear in inhospitable elements is part of what makes ice climbing such a niche sport,” says Woodward.

After his initial awe, Woodward was ready to photograph. “Once the actual climbing began, I brought all my focus to bear, trying to capture Graham's experience in a single image that would tap into the emotions he experiences as a climber on a pitch like this,” says Woodward.

Woodward photographed with a Canon 5D Mark III and Canon f/2.8 70-200mm lens.

3. Free Climbing the Totem Pole, Tasmania, Australia

Australian climbers Doug McConnell (leading) and Dean Rollins (belaying) are seen on the Totem Pole, a slender 215-foot-high dolerite column that has long fascinated rock climbers. Located at Cape Hauy on the Tasman Peninsula, it is tucked between the Candlestick, a 361-foot-high island (to the left) and the mainland.

“We initially went out because it was the 40th anniversary of the first ascent in 1968 by the legendary John Ewbank and thought it would be fun to repeat his aid route,” recalls Rollins. “It is an amazing piece of rock, and the climbing is of a high quality and quite committing in nature. No one had free climbed the Totem Pole by this route before - when we realized we could do it, despite our injuries, it gave us even more motivation.”

The pair spent 15 days working on the route over several months. Just getting to the spire involved a hilly, two-hour hike and nearly 200-foot rappel to the base of the spire. Once there, the Southern Ocean dished out some pretty challenging weather.

“One of the reasons it took us so long was that conditions were often not ideal. Some days were very, very windy. And on others the rock was damp and seeping, so we wouldn't make much progress,” recall Rollins. “And if the swell is up and you're close to the water level, every now and then a wave will smack you.”

Getting the Shot

The slender Totem Pole has been part of photographer Simon Carter’s life since 1994. “I’ve spent more than 20 days photographing climbers on the Totem Pole. I was keen to photograph Doug and Dean because their ascent of the original Ewbank Route was the first really new thing to be achieved on the Totem Pole in many years,” says Carter.

To get his shot, Carter rappelled 30 meters from the cliff opposite the climbers. “I had in mind to try some different compositions and came up with this,” he recalls. In addition to standard climbing gear, Carter uses a chest harness. “I can lean right out on the rappel rope and still hold the camera steady.”

Though Totem Pole offers an ideal location for incredible images, photographers battle lighting in the area. “It still surprises me how small the window of light is on the Totem Pole," says Carter. "No sooner than the shadow from the Candlestick is gone, then the shadow from the mainland (see on the right) starts to creep across the Totem Pole. Climbers can only move so fast, and there can easily be delays, so it always feels like a bit of luck when it all comes together."

Carter photographed with a Nikon D3 and a f/2.8, 14-24mm f2.8 lens.

4. Kayaking the Mekong River, Laos

Getting the Shot

“The moment that I savour most in kayaking in extreme places is the one that is captured here. We're well beyond the point of no return, where the anticipation, excitement, and anxiety of the outcome meld into a singular focus and you become totally absorbed in the moment,” says kayaker and photographer Ben Stookesberry. Stookesberry, one of our previous Adventurers of the Year, was part of the expedition with Chris Korbulic (pictured) and Pedro Oliva to explore the Mekong River in Laos.

Stookesberry set up the framing for the photo and ran a one-second time-lapse while positioning himself at the base of the falls to support Korbulic in case anything went wrong. “Pedro and I followed Chris into this maelstrom soon after the camera captured this photo," he recalls. "Then the scariest hour of our 12 days on the Mekong began as we paddled eight kilometres to the nearest village of Hang Khon, Laos.”

The trio battled fishing lines strewn throughout the river that often harm native local wildlife. “The river here is infested with countless fishing lines and nets that could have easily ensnared and drowned us that night. Luckily, we made it through this gauntlet, but the freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin has not been so lucky,” says Stookesberry.

Stookesberry photographed with a Panasonic Luminex DMC-GH3 and a f/4.0, 14-140mm lens.

5. Deepwater Soloing the Musandam Peninsula, Oman

Getting the Shot

“In some ways, shooting some place new is great because you see everything fresh and with new eyes,” says photographer Jimmy Chin. Chin, on assignment for National Geographic magazine, photographed climbers Alex Honnold (pictured) and Hazel Findlay as they put up new deep-water soloing routes on the knife-edge seaside cliffs along the Musandam Peninsula, Oman. See the story, "Impossible Rock," in the January 2014 issue.

Chin had photographed Honnold climbing in Yosemite for a previous assignment for National Geographic, but this story was on a much tighter time line. “I had a lot more time to shoot the Yosemite story, and I was also much more familiar with the area," Chin recalls. "I had less than three weeks to shoot the Oman story, which isn't a lot of time to shoot a feature story, especially when I'm going to a completely new and remote area. It's great to shoot a place you know well, but I also love the challenge of showing up to a place I've never been and diving straight in."

To get this photo of Honnold, Chin positioned himself on a ledge to the side of where Honnald was climbing. “I knew the light was amazing and that I better nail the shot. I wasn't sure if Alex was going to be able to get out to the same point again,” he says. “I had imagined a shot like this, but got really lucky to get the perfect light and cool body position. Alex contorted and strained every muscle in his body to keep himself on the route.”

Chin photographed with a Canon 5D Mark III and Canon f/2.8, 24-70mm lens.

6. Stand-up Paddleboarding Jaws, Hawaii

Getting the Shot

“Things at Jaws happen so fast, I wasn't sure it was even Kai taking off on the wave until my Skidoo driver pointed and said, ‘Kai Lenny,’” recalls surf photographer Richard Hallman. “I focused my attention on the wave because I knew he was riding stand-up and even though the wave was small for Jaws, it was big for stand-up. He had a spectacular air drop.”

Lenny dropped into the wave, and Hallman continued to photograph the 20-foot ride until Lenny fell. “I knew right away with the few last frames in my camera that it was a particularly bad fall. My biggest concern at this point was his safety.”

Rescue Jet Skis rushed to help when Lenny resurfaced, and Hallman noticed Lenny’s foot was bleeding. “I immediately took a photo with my 70-200mm zoom camera - the zoom allowed me to see the severity of the cut. My experience as a former trauma nurse told me that this was a particularly bad cut,” he says.

“Nothing about big waves is routine. I think that is the why big-waving surfing is such a draw for me," Hallman continues. "It is daunting and challenging as a surfer and as a photographer. It truly is otherworldly to be pressed against the edge of so much energy and to watch these modern-day gladiators drop down these mountains of water.”

7. Climbing Superfortress, Near Vail, Colorado, USA

"I was completely engaged in the climbing, not thinking, not doing, just being," says climber Will Mayo of his second ascent of Superfortress, a very difficult mixed ice and rock climbing route near Vail, Colorado. "Yet when the partially formed icicle of the Fang collapsed beneath my feet, the whoosh of air and the corresponding cacophony of about ten tons of icicle shattering a hundred feet below instantly snapped my mind back to the situation beyond the climb." Worried about the people below, Mayo recalls yelling, "Are you OK?" There was no immediate response so he yelled again. "My girlfriend yelled up that she and everyone else were okay. I realized afterward that because the amphitheatre overhangs by about 50 feet, the ice had fallen well out and downhill from where they all were belaying and watching.

"One of the other routes I have established in Vail I named as a tribute to my late Great-Uncle Tom, who was a co-pilot of a Flying Fortress, the nickname for the B-17, with the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was shot down in occupied France and survived," says Mayo. "The double entendre is that the amphitheatre seems fortress-like and the widely spaced bolts provide opportunity for flying-like falls. Superfortress, which is the nickname for the B-29, seemed like a logical next route as it crossed my first route. I named it before the Fang collapsed, yet it seems very appropriate considering that the amount of ice that fell like a bomb likely weighed about as much as the plane's bomb load capacity."

Getting the Shot

“I turned around to see the entire pillar fracture about eight inches below Will's feet,” says photographer Celin Serbo. “I guess it's the classic case of when to put the camera away. Will had just pulled through the final ice section, and I could only see his feet. I started packing away my camera and preparing to rappel down when I heard a deep crack. Everything was in slow motion as I watched the entire pillar come down - it was like something out of a movie.”

The dramatic end to Mayo’s climb on the Fang occurred after Serbo photographed Mayo climbing the difficult route. “This climb is way above my climbing limits. On Will's 'warm up' lap he trailed a static line, which he fixed at the top anchor for me,” recalls Serbo. “I wanted to be close enough to Will at the routes crux while still giving a sense of place. It is a pretty aesthetic amphitheatre.”

Serbo photographed with a Nikon D800 and a 16-35mm, f/4 lens.

8. Snowboarding the Pemberton Ice Cap, British Columbia, Canada

“Being in the backcountry is where I belong and am the most happy,” says snowboarder Joel Loverin, seen here on the Pemberton Ice Cap in British Columbia, Canada, during a three-day backcountry camping and riding excursion.

“Compared to the other lines I rode on the trip, this one was a lot more relaxed, but the end result for the photograph came out a lot better than the others,” recalls Loverin, who is based in Whistler. “I’m drawn to the freedom and isolation of being way out in the mountains and being submersed in terrain that is always changing. I love the adventure and endless exploration possibilities and the quiet serenity of it all.”

Getting the Shot

“The cold nights would turn the snow into a sheet of ice, then we would have to wait until the afternoon for the snow to soften up to ride anything,” recalls photographer Mark Gribbon, who was on assignment for Snowboard Canada magazine when he got this shot.

Gribbon faced tough weather conditions - for both snowboarding and photographing. Toward the end of the session, Gribbon captured this image. “At the end of the season, the sun is pretty high in the sky, which makes for less dramatic photos. It is a balance trying to find decent snow with a feature that is rideable this time of year,” he says. “The ice and shade kept the surrounding snow rideable at such a late hour in the day.”

Gribbon photographed with a Canon Mark IV and a 70-200mm, f/2.8 lens.

9. Climbing Hallucinogen Wall, Black Canyon, Colorado, USA

Getting the Shot

“I had never even seen the Black Canyon before this climb. Turns out the Black is infamous for a reason,” says photographer John Dickey, who joined climber Josh Wharton on Hallucinogen Wall in Colorado's Black Canyon. “I've been shooting on big walls for over a decade and when I first stepped over the edge, it took me a minute to get my head right before continuing.

“I knew the Black had some pretty difficult lighting, so I went prepared with gradient filters and a strobe. Once I rappelled in and saw the lighting situation, I put away the filters and milked the contrast for all I could. I toyed with balancing the light using filters and in the end stuck with the high contrast,” he recalls.

In order to get the shots he wanted of Wharton, Dickey started climbing at 4 a.m. His goal was to get a head start on Wharton and then begin the long rappel at around 6:45 a.m. to intersect on the wall a few hundred feet off the ground. Dickey had his lighting and climbing thoroughly planned, but serious routes can give pause even to the most prepared. “The biggest challenge of the day was at the start - those first minutes stepping over the edge of the wall. Whenever I get intimidated like that I focus on the task at hand: Check the harness, make sure the carabiner on my belay device is locked, double check camera batteries, and move on.”

Dickey photographed with a Canon 6D and carried a lens.

10. Mountain Biking Book Cliffs Near Green River, Utah, USA

"I was grinning ear to ear from the amount of fun I was having and just starting to plan where I would need to get on the brakes before hitting the steep trench left by run-off at the bottom of this line," recalls pro skier Carston Oliver of this moment at sunset in Book Cliffs, Utah, an increasingly popular mountain biking destination.

"The terrain at Book Cliffs is very complex, with lots of folds, spines, and rolls to explore and play on. This area has the full spectrum of riding options, from supermellow to outright death-defying and everything in between," says Oliver, who left Salt Lake City at 4 a.m. to drive three hours with photographer Jay Beyer to Green River. They took a dirt road to Book Cliffs, where they earned each descent by either pedalling or hiking up with the bikes on their backs. "In essence, it looks and feels like backcountry skiing, but without the risk of avalanches."

Getting the Shot

“The terrain is what I would think the moon would look like, if you were to ever bike on the moon,” recalls photographer Jay Beyer, who was photographing in Book Cliffs for the first time.

“It was getting toward sunset and Carston was showing me some lines that he thought looked cool from the last time he was there," says Beyer. "I saw these lines getting last light in the background. We lined them up and he rode four different lines, all at last light. It worked out perfectly!” The two work together often, mostly on skiing shoots. “Biking is so much easier to shoot than skiing. You don't have to worry constantly about avalanches, and that is pretty awesome. The temps are nice too!”

Beyer photographed with a Canon 1D X and a Canon 70-200mm, f/2.8 lens.

Top image: Ice Climbing in Zirknitzgrotte, Austria. Photograph by Martin Lugger/National Geographic.

[Source: National Geographic. Edited. Top image added.]