Oil Painting on linen.

Size: 128 H x 76W x 4 D cm

This painting depicts the west col of the mountain named Baruntse which is in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Alex was climbing the mountain in 2014 when he took a series of photographs this painting is based upon from the mid camp during his ascent of it. Looking up to the col, (which is a gap in a ridge) one can see snow flutings on an ice face. These flutings are a dangerous place to be as avalanches regularly sweep down them and carve out their unique forms. The accumulation of snow creates a fascinating surface of cornices and mushroom like shapes above rock bands. Two mountaineers descend, and are helping another figure off the picture plane to rappel down. They are clad in thick layers of protective down jackets which communicates the extreme nature of this location. The climbers are sampled from photographs of the 1953 Mount Everest expedition. The viewer is retreating from this inhospitable yet starkly beautiful place.