This magnificent black-and-white photograph takes us to the Swiss canton of Uri, in the heart of the Glarus Alps. Gross Windgällen rises to an altitude of 3187 meters. It owes its name to the violent winds that howl through the region. Plastering summits with snow, the storm sublimates the grandeur of the high mountains it assails.

I chose this viewpoint for its ridge line, which endows the work with an incredible dynamic. Gross Windgällen is the gateway to bernese alps. From its summit, adorned with a cross, our gaze soars towards these legendary mountains, which rise to an altitude of over 4,000 metres. The eastern slopes of summits sparkle as soon as the sun rises. To get this fabulous contrast, I had to wait for the storm to hit in autumn. This is the only time of year when bernese alps is so illuminated.

In taking this photograph, I sought to create depth through the subtle yet intense play of light. By the alternating fog banks, which prolong the journey. By the scale of Gross Windgällen, of course, which celebrates the might of the Bernese mountains, an impassable wall of rock and ice. Through silvery contrasts, this seemingly inhospitable realm appears more welcoming. An inspiration to mountaineers and adventurers alike. This is wilderness captured by photography at the peak of its art.