STEVE RAZZETTI MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY AND JOURNALISM

HIMALAYA: MAKALU

"I felt it was the most beautiful valley I had ever seen...As we sheltered under an overhanging rock one of our senior and highly respected Sherpas told us a story. Dawa Tenzing had never been in the Barun valley before, but Sherpa mythology told of its existence. The valley contained an invisible village - a Shangri-La - where the gods lived and holy men came to die. It was a place of great beauty, as we had seen, and people lived there forever. I asked Dawa Tenzing if he hoped some day to end up in the invisible village, but he said he had been too great a sinner."

Ed Hillary, on walking out from Makalu after the 1952 Cho Oyu Expedition with Eric Shipton

From a campsite near the airstrip at Tumlingtar, the distant summits of Makalu and Chamlang catch the first rays of sunlight on a beautiful autumn morningBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
The Arun River near Tumlingtar.Early mornings at these low elevations are deliciously cool, and this picture captures for me the joys of striding out along the trail before the ferocious heat of the sun turns the valley into a saunaBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
During the annual Dasain festival, villagers construct these elegant wheels - called a roti ping - for the children to play onCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
     
  
The trail from Tumlingtar soon climbs onto a ridge commanding excellent views north towards Makalu. In this shot, from a camp near the village of Mure, Makalu, Baruntse and Chamlang catch the first rays of sun in the morningCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
   
Makalu, Baruntse & Chamlang at first lightBronica ETRSi, 150mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A telephoto of Makalu, with Baruntse peeping over the broad bulk of Peak 6 to the leftCanon A1, 135mm, Kodachrome 64
     
  
Num is where the walk in to Makalu gets tough. From this village the trail plunges from the ridge to cross the Arun at an altitude of only 600m, before commencing the steep climb straight up through Sedua and Tashigaon to the Shipton Pass at 4200mBronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
   
The ridges and valleys of the Himalayan foothills below, still in shadow as dawn breaksCanon A1, 135mm, Kodachrome 64
   
Collecting animal dung at dusk in the fields surrounding the last permanent settlement on this trailBronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
After a hard day in the fields, a man sits down for a cigarette at a viewpoint looking over the Arun ValleyBronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A view towards the Barun Valley and Makalu from the second of the three cols that make up what has become known as the Shipton Pass. In the middle distance is the third col - the Keke La (4150m), and beyond that, the Barun Valley. This crossing became known as the Shipton Pass after Eric Shipton, Ed Hillary & Co came this way after their 1952 Cho Oyu attemptCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
   
The unmistakable silhouette of Rex "Rexatious" Munro standing on this col with our porters during our 45 day epic trek across eastern Nepal in November 1988Canon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
     
  
At this lake, between the first and second cols, a trekking group enjoys a fabulous last evening in the cool air on their way out from Makalu, before plunging into the furnace of the Arun Valley the following dayBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Rex "Rexatious" Munro again, with our porters on reaching the first col of the Shipton Pass during our 1988 trip, with the moisture laden air from the Arun Valley bringing a constant flow of cloud up behind himCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
   
A view up the Barun Valley towards Chamlang and Makalu from this beautiful camping spotCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
     
  
Porters approaching the high camp below the Shipton Pass on their way out from Makalu. Chamlang, Makalu and the Barun Valley beyondBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Porters leaving the huge outwash plain of Sherson beneath the ramparts of Peak 6, en-route to Makalu base campCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 25
   
The sun disappearing behind Peak 6 in the afternoon, from Riphuk Kharka in the upper Barun valleyCanon A1, 135mm, Kodachrome 25
     
  
Seen looking straight up the Lower Barun glacier from near Yak KharkaCanon A1, 135mm, Kadachrome 25
   
A telephoto from high above ShersonCanon A1, 135mm, Kodachrome 25
   
Seen up the Lower Barun glacier from ShershonCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 25
     
  
Telephoto from Base CampCanon A1, 135mm, Kodachrome 25
   
From ShershonBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
From ShersonBronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
From Base CampCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 25
   
From Base CampCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 25
   
From Base CampCanon A1, 50mm, Kodachrome 25
     
  
From a plateau at 5600m above BC, this stunning vista is revealed. The south-west face of Makalu is awesome enough, but at the head of the Barun glacier beyond, the top of Everest's Kangshung face can be seen rising above the Nuptse-Lhotse ridgeCanon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 25
   
A telephoto looking up the Upper Barun glacier from a viewpoint on the south-west flank of Makalu above ShershonCanon A1, 135mm, Kodachrome 25
   
At the plateau above Shershon from which the previous shots were taken. Un-named peaks on the Lower Barun glacier beyondBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
From ShersonBronica ETRSi, 50mm, Fuji Velvia