CLIENT: TENZING, ROCKY TALKIES, EDITORIAL
ATHLETES: FAY MANNERS, ELLA WRIGHT
LOCATION: Mont BlanC Range, TETE BISELX, Switzerland
DELIVERABLES: STILLS, VIDEO
On 3 and 4 April 2026, Fay Manners and Ella Wright made the first ascent of La Muse du Trient on the NNE face of Tête de Biselx in the Mont Blanc massif, a 250-metre mixed route at M7+, climbed without bolts on natural protection alone. No all-female team had previously opened a route on this face.
I was commissioned to shoot for two brands alongside a set of images for editorial use. Tenzing needed climbing action and lifestyle content, plus the hero reel. Rocky Talkie requested a dedicated focus on their mountain radios, detail shots and climbing action. Since integrating that during the first ascent itself wasn't possible, we set aside a separate day for the Rocky Talkie shoot the day after the climb.
As seen on: BBC News · ITV News · Montagnes Magazine · UKClimbing · Planetmountain · Lacrux
The first ascent has been covered by major television news outlets in the UK.
Collect print from this ascent
Bold route finding and moments of doubt, but resilience kept pushing the two onwards. I particularly like this image, where Fay is navigating through the crux pitch, switching between ice axes and jamming bare hands into the frozen cracks."
