Sheridan Glacier

Sheridan Glacier, Copper River Delta, Alaska

Athletes: Jeff McKitterick and Richard Via

Camera: Noblex

The story:  "I headed north up the beautiful Alaskan coast to explore, on assignment for Moonstone Mountaineering Equipment. Before leaving the lower 48 I had laid out a host of creative ideas for imagery.

I did the predictable: Heli skiing, climbing, kayaking, and then looked for something new. Together with a few of my friends I loaded a helicopter full of gear to look for a new perch to explore. We found it in the middle of a massive glacier. Our camp was delicately placed on a small moraine, split on both sides by a large field of broken ice. We felt safe, but had little room to move without the safety of a line, for fear of the many exposed holes that surrounded us. I had chosen this lower elevation, because it was below the snowline, exposing the huge chards of blue ice contrasting against the black glacier dust. The boys tooled up and went out on belay to explore and gain perspective. Their dark forms were tiny hairs on what looked like a prehistoric spine. Like a spiked creature the glacier stretched off into the far horizon, with two humans giving it perspective."