Canon 1D IV, 15mm 2.8 fisheye. ISO 500 10sec (02:36am, August 30th).
A little while back I spent 4 nights wild camping around the Chamonix valley. The first three nights were focused around covering the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (check out that post here). Spending the days down low, I made my ascent each evening to a camping area that proved ideal for following and capturing the trail running race.Having covered the race sufficiently, and with a free schedule for the last evening, I was able to accept an invitation to join some friends for dinner at the Refuge de Plan Glacier. They were booked in to stay the night at the refuge, but as I was travelling with a dog there was to be no space at the refuge for me. Most of the alpine refuges operate a zero dog policy, with this one no exception. She was offered the chance sleep on the porch but instead opted for the tent, aware that a night spent outside at 2680m would be no fun.
A beautiful sunrise greeted us two days earlier.
Each of the previous 3 nights, i’d camped up around 2000m. with the Chamonix valley lying at 1000m, this after work hike proved just the right amount to make a camp before the sun went down just after 8pm. Carrying camera and camping gear as one, i’m well aware of the exertion required to make it up to these high places and i’ve been actively seeking ways to lighten the load. If contemplating night time images, a tripod is one of the most valuable items to take and i’d been searching for one since earlier this year. With a lightweight trip planned to Nepal this November, I made the decision to purchase from UK Company, 3 legged thing. This tripod, a carbon fibre model named Rick, folds up small enough to be housed inside the front pocket of my F-Stop camera bag, whilst extending to a level that i’m just about happy with. It does come with a centre column that will make its reach a little higher, but i’ve removed that for weight saving. So far, so good. Lets see how behaves in the Himalayas.
3 legged thing, Rick. Named after The Young Ones, an 1980s UK TV show.
Fits perfectly in my F-Stop Satori. Tent and sleeping mat were attached to the outside of the bag.
Fully extended (minus the centre column). I’ll take that.
As I just said, each night i’d been camping around the 2,000m. The Refuge de Plan Glacier is a special little place though, way up at 2680m. That additional 600m makes the world of difference to the landscape. Gone is the verdant slopes of the valley, replaced with the inhospitable and somewhat threatening Glacier de Miage. With the car parked at 1,000m I set off rapidly at 5pm to try and make it the 1680m up to the Refuge in time for dinner at 8pm. The whole valley had been witnessing extremely high temperatures over that weekend, meaning that it was important to carry a light load, in order to make the ascent as painless as possible. I’d jettisoned my 70-200mm lens at the car, travelling with only a 24mm 1.4 and 15mm fisheye. The weakness came in the Canon 1D IV which is one of the heaviest and bulkiest cameras to walk with. Things will change here.
As you can see in the next image, the location of the Refuge is simply incredible. You hike and hike and hike without lying your eyes on it to the very last minute. Then, out of nowhere it appears, perfectly camouflaged against the surrounding mountain. I’d made it just in time for sunset and found a space to pitch the tent (an MSR Hubba Hubba NX) just 100m walk from the Refuge. Sat eating my meal of polenta and sausage, prepared by the live-in resident I watched the sun fading from the background and added additional layers as the temperature plummeted.
Blink and you might miss it. The Refuge de Plan Glacier is an incredible feat of architecture.
As darkness fell it was time to make the trip back to the tent and settle in for a night in incredible surroundings. What I hadn’t realised at the Refuge was that during my meal the wind had picked up to gale force strength and on that small walk back, the light of my headlamp was unable to pick out the tent. Thats due to the fact that it had partially blown away. I got back to where the tent had originally been pitched (in beautiful still conditions 1 hour earlier), to find a groundsheet and little else. The tent itself was about 6 metres away, with my bag and camera (that had been left inside – it’s great to have heavy cameras…) being the things that saved it from going on a trip down to the valley.
It took me around 45 minutes to get the tent back in place with rocks needing to be placed in and around the structure. Finally done, I clambered into what sounded like a wind tunnel and lay there, slowly drifting off to sleep, jumping awake every time the tent buckled under the strain. The hard ground provided a surprisingly nice sleeping surface and I woke just after 2am to a beautifully clear, and more importantly quiet, sky. Walking outside It was now unnecessary to use a headlamp as the full moon reflected off the stones lighting the way. For night shots like this, it’s best to capture them under clear skies with a new moon. In that case you would see a galaxy full of stars, but the stars this evening were simply overpowered by that moon.
Canon 1D IV, 15mm 2.8 fisheye. ISO 500 30sec
The tent glow that you can see in both images is from a small headlamp placed in the tent. Aimed directly up, I’d like to diffuse the light next time as this headlamp often blew out the highlights, despite not being a very powerful source itself. Staying warm is probably the most important thing when working during the night like this. As soon as you start to get cold, motivation seeps out of your body as you long for that sleeping bag back in the tent. Happy with the handful of images I’d produced, it was back to bed before my 6.30am breakfast call.
First light for some coffee and bread. For begging purposes, the dog was allowed at the breakfast table.
Breakfast with a view.
Heading back home. The Refuge is in the top left of the frame. Mother nature being amazing with her morning light.
After breakfast it was time to pack up the tent for the roundtrip back down. Getting back to the car brought an end to the four nights of wild camping around the Chamonix valley. With plenty more planned i’m looking forward to getting out on a more star filled night. I can’t recommend the experience enough, with plenty of opportunities for great photographs should you be documenting the night.
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