ABOUT MONT BLANC LINES

THE BEGINNINGS

Mont Blanc Lines started at the end of the first covid lockdown, in May 2020. I went on an ultralight flight at sunset in the Mont-Blanc range, initially just for some landscape photography. Once back home, I saw I had a good image of the north face of les Droites. I had always been curious of where exactly the classic routes, Ginat and Colton-Brooks, went, so I got my "Snow, Ice and Mixed" guidebook out and started drawing.

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Once complete, it was only natural to post the image on social media and climbing forums, and it was an immediate hit. Since I also had good shots of Aiguille du Chardonnet, Aiguille Verte, les Courtes and Grandes Jorasses, why not keep drawing?

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Pretty soon, people asked me if they could buy prints of the images. With the help of graphic designer Julie Loomis, we turned the images into beautiful posters, and I started going on climbing and hiking trips just to capture high resolution images of specific faces. Mont Blanc Lines was born!

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The very first image, including questionable color choices...

THE PHILOSOPHY

Over the years, the Mont Blanc Lines project developed a few key philosophy points:

  • Accurate: I do all I can to draw the lines as accurately as possible. This means that if a piece of information exists out there that can inform where a line exactly goes, it is my responsibility to find it and use it.

  • Aesthetic: I am a photographer at heart, and want the base photos and the overall design of the images to be as pleasing to the eyes as possible. This usually means a lot of hiking or climbing in the dark to be able to shoot at sunrise or sunset.

  • Exhaustive: As much as possible, all visible routes should be drawn, not just the best and most famous. In some ways, dusting out old and forgotten routes is the most fun part of the project!

  • Up to date: Whenever new routes get climbed, new guidebooks get published, or simply when I become aware of a missing line or a mistake, I have to update the image in a (somewhat) timely manner.

  • Transparent: I am responsible for citing all of my sources, usually in the bottom right corner. Whenever I make updates, I will add a quick note about the changes in the poster description as well.

A fraction of my ever growing climbing library, used as a primary source for many of the images

THE AUTHOR

All the images* for the poster have been shot by myself, Alex Buisse. I have worked as a professional adventure photographer in Chamonix (and now Nova Scotia, Canada) for over a decade. I have climbed, skied and flown all over the Mont-Blanc range, the Alps and the world's greater ranges. Though I would absolutely love to, I unfortunately have not managed to personally climb every line I have drawn!

My client list includes Patagonia, Garmin, Arc'teryx, Red Bull, VISA, the International Olympic Committee, BMW, Microsoft, Sports Illustrated, Alpinist Magazine and Rock and Ice, among many others. My portfolio and fine art prints are available on my photo website, www.alexbuisse.com.

* Currently, the only exception are Everest and Lhotse - Southwest Faces, Annapurna I - South Face and Denali - South Face.

After a 'good night sleep' on the Nose

THE POSTERS

The posters are printed to order, ensuring you always receive the latest version (as a bonus, my garage is not full of poster pallets). They are offset printed on 200g semi-glossy (silk finish) paper.

My supplier has printing centers in 32 countries, allowing the posters to be shipped locally to you pretty much anywhere in the world, which helps reduce environmental impact, delays and customs headaches. Depending on size and location, they are shipped rolled in a tube (most common), flat (for small sizes and select countries) or in triangular tubes.​

Though rare, it does happen that the posters arrive to you with some damage. Please let me know if that is the case and I will immediately send you a replacement.