Hidden in plain sight

The fine art photographic print "Hidden in plain sight" by Norwegian photographer and adventurer Tormod Granheim, signed and numbered in a limited edition. The art print is available in three different sizes, printed on Hahnemühle Baryta fine art 325 gsm high gloss art paper.

Edition and size:
100 x 100 cm - edition of 4.
60 x 60 cm - edition of 8.
35 x 35 cm - edition of 12.

Framing:
The 100 x 100 cm art print comes pre-framed with a black frame and art glass, without a passe-partout. The smaller art prints are supplied unframed.
Send us an email at post@m35.no or add a comment when ordering if you would like framing for the 60 x 60 cm and 35 x 35 cm sizes of "Hidden in plain sight".

Background:
For us, the mountains are accessible. We may not be able to climb them all, at least not always. But they have been mapped, visited, climbed.

Grandes Jorasses is located deep within the Mont Blanc massif. Today, the mountain is well known, partly for its mighty, kilometer-high north face. This has not always been the case. The distance from Chamonix is so great and the surrounding mountains so numerous, that one can only barely see the mountain from a very limited few meters of the long Chamonix valley, whose actual name is Vallée de l’Arve.

The situation is similar in Italy, where the mountain appears almost peripheral when viewed from Courmayeur. One has to drive five kilometers east, into Val Ferret to Planpincieux to get close to the base of the mountain. But from here, one sees more an endless slope leading to the sky, rather than a mighty mountain.

The mountain was first ascended by the legendary climber Edward Whymper. His motivation was not about being the first to reach the summit of Grandes Jorasses. He was primarily interested in reaching a vantage point that could give him an indication of weaknesses in the defenses of Aiguille Verte. Thus, a curious situation arose, almost a myth. After climbing approximately 2600 vertical meters, Whymper and his companions chose to content themselves with ascending only to Grandes Jorasses' second highest point, which was later named Pointe Whymper.

They could have taken the trouble to walk the few minutes east to reach an even slightly higher point - I have done just that, and it was the easiest part of a trip that lasted three days and two nights.

In the book "Scrambles Amongst the Alps", Whymper ranks Grandes Jorasses as the massif's finest peak, second only to Mont Blanc. But when he stood up there, the obvious choice, to complete the first ascent, was hidden right before his eyes.