Everest and the Khumbu Glacier

I have always been fascinated by the The Himalaya - a land of secret and sacred summits bathed in mistique and religeous devotion. When I first took up mountaineering photography I literally bought any publication that I could find which contained images of these mountains along with information on travel throughout the region. The urge to visit The Himalaya, and Everest in particular, was strong, and as soon as I felt I had the experience and the confidence in my own abilities I took off to see what I could achieve myself.

On reflection, my early expeditions were wasted photographically, but they did build the foundations for the future. When I was persuaded to lead several photographic expeditions in the years to come I would find myself taking some of the finest cameras in production at the time including both the powerful, panoramic Fuji GX617 and the Nikon D850.

On the day when this image was captured I had opted to camp the group at Gorak Shep.  Upon our arrival most members of the expedition wanted to take a relatively relaxing afternoon in camp, and as my guiding services were not required I decided to take off up Kala Pattar on my own. The weather was superb - exceptionally clear air and a strong biting cold wind offered perfect conditions for photography. Considering I was carrying so much heavy equipment, I made surprisingly good progress up Kala Pattar and arrived on the summit at 3pm.

To my surprise I had the mountain to myself and could happily indulge in the enjoyment of being 'at one' with these majestic mountains and stunning scenery all around. At over 5500 metres, the wind was so stong it was difficult to keep my tripod steady, but nevertheless I made full use of the conditions by taking a series of images in a variety of formats.