The thundering Aiguille du Midi pierces the sky with its sharp crests. This peak rises to 3842 metres above Chamonix, in the Mont Blanc massif. This mountain in the French Alps owes its fame to the lift that takes us from the valley to summit in just a few minutes. An astonishing journey that takes us as fast as the wind into the heart of the celestial and magnificent realm of high mountains.

I've been on the lookout for the Aiguille du Midi for several years, waiting feverishly for the moment when it would present itself to my gaze in its most beautiful finery. Several conditions must be met for the walls to be plastered in this way. I try to apprehend them, to anticipate them, but no one can master nature. You have to trust to chance and be patient. You have to connect with the mountain and be there when the magic happens. When the snow finally clings to the rocks, transforming summit into an immaculate white fairyland. A subjugating spectacle that only lasts a few moments. The time for a photograph that bears witness, in black and white, to an ephemeral and absolute beauty.

I took this photograph at the end of the day, when the Mont Blanc massif had just weathered the fury of a winter storm. The Aiguille du Midi rises out of the mist, dazzling and determined. Around it, the clouds clinging to summits lend the picture a dramatic intensity. In the background, the Dent du GéantAiguille de Rochefort and Mont Mallet add incredible depth to the picture. These mountains, rising several kilometers from the Aiguille du Midi, reinforce the balance and splendor of the shot.