描述
It is 3:30am when the alarm rings into my tent.. I hardly open my eyes, trying to find my phone to stop this awful sound. It is cold. My body is in pain from the hike done the previous day and my head knocks a little, due to all the drinks I got with a group of travelers just a few hours ago in the mountain refuge. I can hear a light rain falling onto my tent’s roof. I’m tired, thirsty, hungry, but I know that I have no time to waste, the clock is already playing against me. I’m now engaged into a speed race with the sun to be at the top before him. I dress up quickly, take my bag, my hiking sticks, and start this long walk till the mirador. This is a 600m elevation gain hike that awaits me, I know it's gonna be hard. I’m not in the best physical condition and my bag is heavy, but I have to go.
The walk starts into the woods, going up and down for approximately 1h on muddy terrain. It’s still the night, everything is dark and I can barely see what’s around me, just helped by my small headlamp. I’m alone out there, I can feel it. No one else was awake at the campsite, and no one is on the track yet. Why would people anyway? Who except me would wake up that early? After an hour of walking I finally exit the forest, and can see the sky: I’m lucky, stars are shining, there is no more rain, nor clouds. But I can also see the dawn rising behind me, and the hardest part of the hike is to come.
It’s 5am, I’m now walking along a river, between trees, on a very very steep path. I have to almost climb rocks, and the goal seems still so far away. My legs hurt. I exit this small part of the forest and I’m now following a sandy path, still steep and also very slippery. I almost fell several times, the void is near, I have to be careful. Below me, in the woods, I can see the headlamps of some hikers, I’m not alone anymore, and I have to move faster if I want to be the first. The reason? There is none.. I just challenge myself and try to think at something else than my body which hurts more and more. The sunrise is near, and everything at the horizon is turning into incredible colors. If I wasn’t already gone to a specific place I would have stayed there to take a few pictures. A few last meters between rocks as big as houses and I’m finally there !
It’s 6am, and I’m the first there. Before the sun, before the people. I made it !
It is still very dark around me but I can see the lake. Half frozen, the surface is calm, as for once there is no wind into Torres del Paine. I’m facing the towers which start to get a pink glow from blue hour. Blue hours are incredible in this region, being super colorful and glowy well before the sunrise. I quickly find a space to set up my equipment. It’s very cold here, temperatures are freezing. Way much more than at the campsite. My hands are frozen, I can’t feel anything that I’m doing. Now I’m waiting, watching at the colors going stronger, at the clouds moving, playing around the towers. The hikers finally arrived. We are a group of 20 people up there, facing this beautiful and wild nature, waiting for the great moment. Finally the sun has overcome the horizon and is now shining on the towers in a vibrant ranger color, putting them on fire ! The perfect conditions are reunited, the one I was expecting.
I stayed there for a little moment, watching at the towers. Everyone’s left already, and now new people are arriving, who woke up later. It’s time to go back down, as a long hike still awaits me. This is a total of 18km and 900m of elevation gain I’ve done in 2 days, with a heavy 20kg bag on my back. A real challenge for me that I will be proud of for a while.
Location: Mirador Base Las Torres, Torres del Paine NP, Chile
iso: 100 | f/11 | focal length: 16mm | shutter speed: 1/2s
Size: 4120 × 6180
License: Extended Editorial. Can be used to display privately, or in commercial and non-commercial settings, or in groups with an unlimited number of participants. The license includes unlimited use and display in virtual or physical galleries, documentaries, and essays by the NFT holder. Provides no rights to create commercial merchandise, commercial distribution, or derivative works.
Artist: Joffrey Briaud
Joffrey Briaud is a professional landscape photographer who grew up under the sun of the South East of France, somewhere between mountains and sea. In 2018, planning a trip to the arctic country of Norway, he took the decision to buy his first camera to capture the beauty of the Northern Lights. This is how a convenient purchase turned into a true passion, pushing him to dedicate all his savings to travel to some of the most incredible places of the world and capture their beauty. Regarding the difficulty to find some free time out of his work to practice his passion, he decided in 2021 to quite his job to focus 100% on photography and make it full-time. Self-taught artist, his unique style can be defined as complex, dreamy and colorful.