2024 Adventure Photography Calendar

Lunag Ri, elevation 6,895 meters (22,621 ft) is located in the Himalaya on the border between Nepal and Tibet. 

Lunag Ri was first climbed on October 25, 2018, by the Austrian climber David Lama, for which he won the 2019 Piolet d'Or.[1] Lama ascended the West Ridge solo after he and American climber Conrad Anker failed on two previous attempts in November 2015 and fall 2016. During the second attempt Anker suffered a heart attack. 

In 2022 Chantel Astorga, Anne Gilbert Chase, and I went up the Rowaling Valley to the same basecamp Conrad and David used. We had hoped to climb a new route and descend the west ridge. The region is steeped in history both politically (Nangapa La) and alpinism. Pacific Northwest alpinists Joe Puryear, Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb had each made several different expeditions to climb Lunag Ri and elsewhere in the region in 2009 and 2013. Their trip reports can be viewed in the American Alpine Journals.

Our team received financial support from the American Alpine Cutting Edge Grant.

This image was taken on a sub peak at an elevation of 20,110ft looking to the Northeast. 2022

January

Rachael Burks, La Flagere Chamonix France 2015

In 2015 I  did a campaign shoot for Dynastar Skis with Rachael Burks, Forrest Coots, and Sean Cochrane in Chamonix. I had visited Chamonix in 2001. I left France feeling as though I had fallen in love. I love working with skiers in moody, raw and authentic conditions. On this day it had snowed nearly a meter and the tree skiing was all-time. I look for partnerships that share a common ethos of authenticity. My workflow is 70% stills and 30% video. Each medium serves a purpose. And each medium can be used to tell a story in a brand's visual voice.

March

Anne Gilbert Chase, Torre Valley Argentina 2017

The only benefit to the wind in Patagonia is to dry out your sleeping bag by shaking it in the wind. The moment I strive to capture is the moment that just happened. The only way to get it is to have your camera very accessible. Anne Gilbert and I spent 3 weeks with Kate Rutherford and Brittany Griffith in Torres del Paine, Chile without putting our harnesses on as it rained, snowed or was too windy to climb. With a grim forecast Anne Gilbert and I went to Chalten where we climbed a Mikey Schaefer, Joel and Neil Kauffman, route on Super Domo called “Domo Blanco” 500m WI 5 M5/6 January 2014. Kate and Brittany returned home.

May

Tyler Jones, Caucasus Range Republic of Georgia in the Svaneti Region. 2015

Just before Russia invaded Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital in 2008 I applied to the Hans Saari Memorial Ski Exploration Grant. Our team Seth Waterfall, Tyler Jones and I were awarded USD $5,000 to attempt to ski a 17,032ft mountain named Shkhara, near the remote village of Ushguli (a UNESCO world heritage site). We made it to ~ 16,000ft but decided to ski down before reaching the summit. In 2015 with Chad Sayers and Forrest Coots. We tried again but Shkhara was cloaked and unskiable. On the trip we explored the region which led us to an unnamed mountain. We climbed and skied the wide couloir in the center that looked into Russia on the other side. I am fascinated by the history of this region. Since Russia and Ukraine began a war my thoughts wander back to those trips through the history of civilization. Being exposed to different cultures ushers in a deeper sense of empathy for our fellow humans.

July

Chance Farm, Gallatin Valley, Montana 2023

We all gotta eat. No one can adventure without fueling their machine. We are what we put into our bodies. There is a correlation between what we put into our bodies and how we perform, both mentally and physically. Many people ask why I placed a picture of a farm or other agriculture-related images in calendars in an adventure-themed calendar. Everything is connected. Don’t let large corporate conglomerates with their fat cats at the head of the table sitting on their fat asses tell you what you should be putting into your engine. Eating fresh, and local could be the greatest action to positively impact your local health system and economy. Think about it. The value of food being grown, locally and statewide is more than the yearly fiscal amount. The short-term profits of building new affordable or luxury apartments does nothing to reduce the cost of living by pushing food further away from the urban center.

September

Anne Gilbert Chase, trying really hard on “Stigmata” Gallatin Canyon, Montana 2018

Show up and try, really hard. For yourself and for others. Climbing offers many life lessons. Climbing literally changed the trajectory of Anne Gilbert's life (and, therefore, mine). Life requires a grind-it-out-mentality to find success. Is climbing a selfish pursuit? Maybe? But we all need to keep the well of psych replenished. The day you stop moving is the day you will stop moving.

November

Baja Mexico 2011

I typically consume more ocean water than surfing waves. The ocean has a way of making me feel small. I am humbled by the ocean and all of its mysteries. I think of waves like avalanches. Sheer power and strength are so beautiful and so deadly, a true joy in our natural world. After the completion of one guiding season, around sixteen of us, mostly, unemployed guides met in San Diego and drove the coast of Baja Mexico. A few of us spent 4 weeks others spent 2 months surfing and living in our vehicles experiencing the noise of the natural world without the noise of society. Remember the importance of downshifting and recalibrating to find your life’s grounding.