Some people’s courage is often astounding, while others seem to take life-threatening risks in their obsession with adventure and thrill. The UK’s Daily Mail published a set of photos on May 27 showing a climber bravely scaling an icefall. It is reported that the man used only a pair of ice axes to help him climb to the top of a 500-foot (about 152-meter) frozen waterfall in -18°C conditions.
The brave climber is 25-year-old Alex Luger from Austria. This avid climbing enthusiast chose to tackle the massive Brückenfall icefall in Switzerland this time. Alex has been climbing since he was 11 years old and has a particular fondness for icefalls. He said, “Climbing icefalls is very dangerous—it’s riskier than rock climbing. You have to check the weather beforehand and see if the ice is hard enough to hold your weight. I take a series of safety measures when climbing, such as a helmet and crampons, but the most important thing is to keep the entire climb under control. Ice climbing is really thrilling, and the ice grows thicker each year, so every climb is unique.”
Adventure sports photographer Ray Demski captured this set of breathtaking photos. Prior to this, he had already photographed many of Alex’s impressive climbing moments, but this time he decided to shoot at night—and the results proved astonishing. He said, “Shooting at night gave us a completely new perspective, allowing me to control the lighting to capture the stunning shapes and colors of the ice.”