Posts tagged altitude

28
Jan 14

Le Grand-Bornand

Le Grand-Bornand, France 45º56’45″N 6º25’48″E

Le Grand-Bornand is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.“The wonderful things in life are the things you do, not the things you have.”
Reinhold Messner

30
May 13

Airbus A380 Cockpit

Over the Northern Atlantic Ocean, 60º43’12″N 36º58’12″W

Inside the Cockpit of the A380 While 35,000 Feet Over the Northern Atlantic Ocean during the flight Air France AF0065 Los Angeles - Paris.Inside the Cockpit of the Airbus A380 While 35,000 Feet Over the Northern Atlantic Ocean during the flight Air France AF0065 Los Angeles – Paris.

08
Mar 12

FROZEN

Le Grand-Bornand, Haute-Savoie, France 45º57’28″N 6º25’38″E

With this series we temporarily set aside the speed of carbon fiber man-made machines and the indecision of the rough seas, turning our focus to the serene and still natural beauty found in the winter landscape of snow and ice. Here we see the white blanket of the season enveloping Le Grand-Bornand commune in Haute-Savoie, France, it’s cold layers providing a wealth of frozen visuals from both sides of the lens. The temperate chill in this gallery gives us a beautiful organic illustration of high contrast, as the comfort and familiar warmth of color is all but covered, transforming our surroundings into a quick study of monochromatic scenes and textures. The ability to capture moving water in it’s state of suspended animation is always exciting and intriguing… a special little gift from nature given for the pleasure of every photographer. As if frozen in time, these images evoke a silent and unique emotion all their own where each stolen moment is paused and immortalized.

Words: Fred Eagle

02
Feb 12

When snow meets water

Saint Gervais les Bains, Haute-Savoie, France 45º53’31″N 6º42’87″E

What happens when 16 sailors meet 16 mountaineers? They talk about adventures, sailing, mountains, girls, weather, the Earth, elements, technology…

That’s what happenend last week in St Gervais, France during the 21st Mer Montagne Trophy, a traditional meeting between sailors and mountaineers. This amical event was created 20 years ago by former maxi-multihull and Whitbread skipper, Eric Loizeau. After three round the world races and numerous transats culminating in his skippers the maxi-cat Roger & Gallet, Loizeau turned his back on the sea and became a mountain man. He went to the top of the world, scaling Mount Everest. Then he wanted these worlds of water, ice and salt, to share their passions and hence the Trophy Mer Montagne was born.

Over four days the competitors enjoy several sporting challenges; ski touring (where you have to get to the top of the mountain using only your muscles and your sweat), biathlon (shooting & skiing), slalom, transtation and a ski race (ski touring by night). A torchlight ski session also happened, but for the rest, what happens in St. Gervais stays in St Gervais!

Some of the best sailors were there, including ORMA skipper Yvan Bourgnon recently returned from rounding Cap Horn in a beach multihull, Fred Le Peutrec who just finished completed the Jules Verne Trophy on Banque Populaire, MACIF IMOCA 60 skipper François Gabart the young gun competing in the next Vendée Globe and Steve Ravussin who is preparing for a big season on his MOD 70 Race For Water.

If some sailors are good skiers, other are rookies. But the goal is not solely to win this amical event but also to make friends with the mountain men and women, to discover and share their passion as often mountaineers invite sailors to discover their world and vice et versa. Like Aurélien Ducros (2 times FreeRide World Champion) who competed in the last Mini-Transat, or some Mountain Guides who invited sailors to share a ride to the top of the Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in Europe.

All of these stars also enjoyed a conference from Race for Water, a foundation who are trying to explain to the human race the fragility of our water resources and how to preserve them. Salt water and ice, everybody is concerned.

Christopher Pratt wins the 21st Mer Montagne Trophy.

Words: Gilles Morelle http://www.adonnante.com/

26
Nov 09

Moth Mach 2

Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia 33º51’06″S 151º15’59″E

Scott Babbage in a training session on his Moth Mach 2 in Sydney Harbour, Single-handed sailing dinghy with hydro-foils.
McConaghy Boats understand strong, light and fast and in no time at all McConaghy partnered with McDougall and began to build the next generation of foiling moths. Drawing upon the two names McDougall / McConaghy and acknowledging the name of the 2nd moth ever built by founder John McConaghy, they formed Mach 2 Boats Pty Ltd.