John Middendorf and Xaver Bongard had just completed the historical and unrepeated ascent of what is still considered possibly the hardest rock climb in the world, the Grand Voyage (VII 5.10 A4+ WI3) on Pakistan’s Trango Towers in 1992. Ace was the expedition photographer and descended from the upper glaciers to help coordinate a rescue mission with the Pakistani military after a member of a fellow party on the neighboring tower had taken a bad fall. Sunset was bouncing off of clouds that were hidden from sight. The helicopter rescue was required, but not urgent and Ace snapped this while waiting. This photo was a poster for the former climbing company, A5, (later acquired by The North Face) and the expedition helped usher in a new level of Himalayan big-wall climbing. Renan Ozturk once told Ace it was one of the photos that inspired him to climb and shoot.
The Ski Journal Volume 12, Issue 3: Page 91
