TOP TO BOTTOM I’ve been visiting the mountains of Europe for over half my life. They are special, and bring back a mix of joy and sadness. Choucas are the predominate black bird in the Alps and play a folkloric role as the spirit of fallen com-rades in the mountains. I have shot hundreds of photos of them and always feel a connection with friends lost and the moments we shared. La Grave, France. Sometimes the most amazing discoveries are found on layover days when the weather is overcast and the snow is blowing sideways. On a solo kayak excursion, I found this derelict whaling harpoon boat from the 18th century located near Enterprise Island off the coast of Antarctica, capturing this image while being harassed by a flock of Arctic terns. PUSHING THE LIMITS of his world hasn’t come without consequence, and Von Doersten has experienced more than his share of tragedy and close calls. He’s lost friends in moun-taineering and ski accidents and plane crashes, and has been involved in rescue scenarios in which people didn’t make it. He came close to death on a 2002 expedition to Alaska’s Mount St. Elias. The plan was to make the world’s longest summit-to-sea ski descent with experienced ski and snowboard mountaineers Aaron Martin, Reid Sanders and John Griber. But high on the mountain, he broke a crampon and was forced to turn back. He developed frostbite on his hands during his scramble to safety before hunkering down in a snow cave while the others pushed on—a decision that potentially saved his life. “Things weren’t going right,” Von Doersten says. “We had all these signs throughout the trip. We expressed some con-cern with the summit, that they were pushing too hard in less-than-prime conditions. They were going to ski this mountain. They ended up going up and things didn’t go as planned.” Nearing the summit too late in the day, Griber decided to turn back as well. From below the summit he watched Martin slide off the side of the mountain to his death, realizing that the same had happened to Sanders minutes earlier. Their bodies were never found, and it took the Alaska Air National Guard to get Von Doersten and Griber off the mountain safely. While it’s still tough to think about, this tragedy helped Von Doersten shape a healthy concept of death, as well as the ability to celebrate the lives of friends and family lost. “While traveling the world, the view of death in each cul-ture and religion is perceived differently,” he says. “I applied some of these beliefs with my own philosophies on death and realized we all live on in the afterlife in some shape or form.” This hard-earned perspective has traveled with Von Doersten on subsequent trips—projects such as a sailing and ski mountaineering expedition to Antarctica with Chris Davenport for Outside magazine, Red Bull’s Congo Grand Inga Project, and climbing and skiing the Grand Teton with 14-year-old Kai Jones, Todd Jones’ son, in June 2021. On all these expeditions, he thinks back to the stories of Ernest Shackleton and other explorers he read as a child. The daring exploits portrayed in these stories help fuel Von Doersten to not only document the journey, but also to search out ways to get the innovative, never-before-seen shot. In recent years, the now 57-year-old Von Doersten has leaned into commercial photography in addition to work in documentary film production and location scouting. He’s continually researching and pitching the next project—an unending push to stay relevant and change with the fast-evolv-ing world of outdoor photography. He knows that as long as he can find the places where adventure and story meet, his search will keep marching on. “I’m always looking forward,” Von Doersten says. “The next photo could be your most iconic image.” 088 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 15, Issue 2: Page 88
