Beyond the tumult of mankind, the mountain rises. Powerful and victorious. The Aiguille du Chardonnet, a pearl of granite in the heart of the Mont Blanc mountain range, confronts us in an instant with all the beauty of the world. I was lucky enough to climb this colossal peak with my friend Vivian Bruchez. But more than the vibrant memory of this marvellous ascent, the work is nourished by a profound truth. A jewel of the Alps, reborn from the mist at the ends of the earth, the Aiguille du Chardonnet reveals its rock plastered with sparkling snow to the sun. Nature redraws on its flanks the chaos of its history. The scale of its faults, the vigor of its ridges. The roughness of its rock underlined by snow. A constant reminder that from apocalypse comes light. That from fracas comes tranquility, and that our secret wounds can be transformed into unshakeable strength.

Contemplating this black-and-white photograph, we discover our own truth. From shadow to light, our spirit soars as the mist sails. Captivated by the purity of the Aiguille du Chardonnet, our gaze caresses the essence of the mountain and fills with its unspeakable beauty. The fruit of a symbiosis between the elements, a masterpiece of nature, an elusive interlude at the summit of the Alps.

To immortalize this sumptuous ephemera. This is the mission I tirelessly pursue. For the mountains only reveal their splendour for a handful of days each year. Holding my breath and filling my soul with its flamboyant grandeur, I photograph it. A few precious seconds before the dream fades. When the sun warms the bleached walls and the clouds swallow up the longed-for summit again. A quest for the ephemeral to reach the essential. It's a demanding adventure, and I've decided to devote my life to it. To set off in search of the mountains and, despite the setbacks, never give up. Until that extraordinary day when nature offered me the privilege of photographing her in this way. A transcendent mountain that guides us, generous, from a bubbling reality to the frontiers of the absolute.