Mick Hartley

Taken by Cory Richards on the first successful winter climb of Gasherbrum II, aka The Shining Mountain, an 8,035 meter (26,362 feet) peak in Pakistan on the borders of China and India (from PDN):

[Photo © Cory Richards]

"We were at about 24,270 feet, it was -45º, and we had been climbing since 3:00 am.  I knew the sunrise was coming and there wasn’t going to be another opportunity like this. Trying to anticipate that, I ran (or tried to run) ahead, and promptly vomited from the effort. As I collected myself and caught my breath, I turned and fired off maybe 10 frames…this was the only one that was sharp enough to pass. It was one of those very rare and special moments where everything aligned…or at least close enough…to tell a monumental story of human effort in a massive and beautiful environment…in a single frame. I don’t think these happen very often in a career…where we can actually see the whole of our efforts is greater than the sum of all the parts.”