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Mountain climbers scale some of the highest peaks in the world in pictures by
photographer Jimmy Chin
Here's a photographer who will go to great heights in his search for the
ultimate picture. Jimmy Chin, probably the world's greatest adventure
photographer, has travelled the world with highly-skilled mountain climbers,
scaling huge peaks and even skiing down the face of Mount Everest
Conrad Anker reaches for his next gear placement, 2,500 feet off the ground on
the Pacific Ocean Wall of El Capitain, Yosemite National Park, California
Jimmy has built up a portfolio that documents his work in some of the most
inaccessible and extreme situations imaginable. Jimmy is the go-to man for
adventurers and publications such as National Geographic and Outside Magazine
Yuji Hirayama climbs in Turkey in April 2009
His travels have taken him to the tallest freestanding sandstone towers in the
world, the Hand of Fatima in Mali, to the highest sheer cliff face on the globe.
"The climbs up the Hand of Fatima which is 2,000 feet and Naga Parbat which is
just over 15,000 feet were spectacular," said Jimmy. "The Hand of Fatima and the
Kaga Tondo in Mali, is a personal favourite of mine. That shot sums up the
bravery and tremendous ability of these climbers, who allowed me to join them
and to experience the same dangers that they face"
Cedar Wright and Kevin Thaw climb the south buttress of Kaga Tondo on the Hand
of Fatima in Mali on December 20, 2002.
To work with Steph Davis as she became the first woman to free climb El
Capitan's Salathe Wall in Yosemite, was an honour and a privilege. "I am always
concerned with finding the right spot and the right shot, so sometimes I forget
to appreciate the skill of my fellow adventurers, but I am aware of how my life
has been changed by my ability with a camera"
Steph Davis free climbs the Salathe Wall of El Capitain in Yosemite National
Park, California, on November 4, 2005. Steph is the first and only woman to free
climb the Salathe
Steph Davis leading the crux "Boulder Pitch" on the Salathe Headwall in Yosemite
National Park on November 4, 2005
Of all his adventures though, his ascents of Everest stand out as his most
physically demanding and rewarding. "You do wonder - when you are at 28,000
feet, the height that aeroplanes cruise at, when you are struggling to draw
breath and every limb aches - why do I do this?"
Kit and Rob DesLauriers with Dave Hahn on the South Summit of Mount Everest on
October 4, 2006
"But of course once you reach the summit and realise that there is nowhere you
could stand taller on Earth, that's why I do it. On my 2006 expedition to
Everest me, Kit and Rob DesLauries decided to speed up our descent of the
mountain by skiing down its south east ridge. To say that was fun and frivolous
is a bit of an understatement"
Kit DesLauriers hiking through the Khumbu Icefall of Mount Everest on September
18, 2006
Pushing himself hard in training between jaunts, Jimmy's life is a constant
whirl of planning, travel and photography. "I lose anywhere up to 20 pounds on
location with adventurers like Conrad Anker or Brady Robinson," said Jimmy. "So
I need to replace that lost weight and muscle by training hard when I am back in
the States between jobs. And as I get older it is far more important for me to
be doing this and taking my conditioning seriously"
Jimmy Chin climbing the Pacific Ocean Wall in Yosemite Park, California
Jimmy Chin on Mount Kinabalu, a World Heritage Site in Borneo, on April 25, 2009
Granite towers reflected in a pool on the Karakoram Mountains in Charakusa
Valley, Pakistan. This image was taken on August 10, 1999 during Jimmy's first
major climbing expedition
Dean Potter, one of the greatest high line walkers in the world, walks on a
one-inch thick piece of webbing over a 500 foot deep chasm at Canyonlands
National Park in Indian Creek, Utah, in January 2007
Kasha Rigby, Giulia Monego and Ingrid Backstrom approach Redommaine peak before
their first ski descent in October 2009 during the Shangri La Expedition, in the
Himalayas
Kasha Rigby climbing Redommaine peak before the first ski descent in October
2009, during the Shangri La Expedition in the Himalayas
Conrad Anker traverses an alpine ridge deep in the Waddington Range on Mount
Combatant, Coastal Range in British Columbia, Canada
Renan Ozturk on Mount Meru in Garwahl Himalaya, India, on September 14, 2009
Jimmy Chin climbs Mount Meru in Garwahl Himalaya, India
Pictures from the peak of perfection: The man who climbs mountains in search
of the ultimate photo
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:24 PM on 6th May 2011
For most of us, hauling yourself up some of the Earth's highest peaks would be
enough to keep us occupied.
But for one mountaineer, the exertion he goes through to scale the heights is
just a means to capturing some of the most stunning images of nature's peaks.
Robert Bosch, 57, has climbed to the summit of Everest, the icy Alps of Europe
and even to the frozen desert wastes of Antarctica in pursuit of adventure and
the perfect snap.
Clinging on: Climber Pesche Wuthrich swings for another handhold in the Alps on
the border between Italy and Switzerland
Perilous: This image shows Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck ice-climbing near
Pontresina, Switzerland
Balancing act: Two climbers perch on top of Salbitnadel in Uri, Switzerland, in
another of Mr Bosch's stunning images
Perspective: Mr Bosch has spent nearly 40 years climbing the Earth's highest
peaks to get his images
Perspective: Mr Bosch has spent nearly 40 years climbing the Earth's highest
peaks to get his images
Working with some of the greats of European mountaineering, Mr Bosch's
vertigo-inducing photography portrays the loneliness and grit that all climbers
need to conquer the world's highest peaks.
He said: 'Climbing Mount Everest is relatively straightforward for an
experienced climber.
'I had previously attempted to ascend the notoriously difficult west ridge route
but that had defeated me.
'So in 2001 I succeeded climbing the north face, but I must tell you that to
climb Everest up the commercially popular route is easy.
'Everyone travels to the top and thinks they can write a book about it, but the
majority of these people are not mountaineers, they are relying ont he
incredible work of the Sherpas of Nepal.'
Give me a leg up: Climbers half way up the artificial wall on the Diga di
Luzzone in Tessin
Staying cool: Ueli Steck ice axes in hand as he climbs near Oeschinen in Bern,
Switzerland
Don't look down: Annatina Schultz makes her way up The Fall on Klettern in
Meringen, Switzerland
Eyes on the prize: Mr Bosch stands suspended at a 90 degree angle on the
artificial wall in Tessin, Switzerland
Photographing the greats of the climbing world, including 34-year-old Ueli Steck,
Mr Bosch has witnessed the skill needed in perilous climbs.
He said: 'Ueli is a wonderful climber, an exceptional mountaineer, we climb a
lot together looking for that perfect shot that sums up the strength and balance
and fitness that climbers need.
'His free climbing abilities are what most impresses me, he is a good friend and
it is a pleasure to work with him.'
As an experienced climber, Mr Bosch - who lives near Zurich in Switzerland - has
scaled more than 100 different peaks across the world.
He considered Cerro Torre in Argentina one of the hardest ascents, despite its
relative unknown status.
Nearly there: This close up was taken near the summit of the wall as Mr Bosch
was suspended over the drop
Bleak: The photographer counts Cerro Torre, in Patagonia, Argentina, as one of
the toughest to climb
Scaling new heights: This image shows ice-climbing on the Godwin Austen Glacier
in Pakistan with K2 in the background
Mr Bosch said: 'My passion was born when my parents would take me to visit the
Alps when I was a boy.
'My main concern was climbing, but another interest of mine had always been
photography and in my mid twenties I began to take pictures during my ascents
and by the time I was 30 I had launched my own business concentrating on my
climbing.
'I was working in the Swiss Alps on my photography, hanging from a rope and
using my crampons digging into the rock face to balance myself.
'Unfortunately I had a momentary lapse of balance and I turned 180 degress
upside down to face a sheer 3,000ft drop.
'My heart skipped and luckily for me my rope held and I managed to right myself,
but that incident haunts me every day because I came so close to falling down
head first.'
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Adventures