“Moments of awe and tranquility are rarely free of mortal danger” - Danny Leigh, Financial Times
“In the face of global climate change, these images of the glacial otherworldliness of Alaska carry a wistful splendour and a bittersweet urgency.” - Craig Fedirighi, vervetimes.com
Brad Washburn was the greatest aerial mountain photographer of all time. Hanging out the open door of an airplane, he flew above unmapped mountain ranges - capturing iconic images with which he could make maps, pursue scientific inquiries, discover first ascents, and inspire people. More than eighty years after Washburn first photographed Denali from the air, climbing buddies Renan Ozturk (MERU) and Freddie Wilkinson look at some of Washburn’s images and have this crazy idea: rather than go up, their dream is to go sideways — across the range’s most forbidding peaks, the Mooses Tooth massif. It’s a decidedly new way to explore the same landscape Washburn first discovered. As they pioneer the route over the course of two expeditions, enduring freezing bivies, cut ropes, and rock fall along the way, their desire to be the first to complete the audacious line grows into an obsession. While the climbing action unfolds, Washburn’s own incredible story comes to life through stunning archival footage and recreations. Filmed over a period of five years, THE SANCTITY OF SPACE brings together visual elements of the highest order – from Washburn and Adams’s stunning large format black and white photographs to state-of-the-art helicopter cinematography to space photography – with an unforgettable story spanning generations. It’s both a white-knuckle adventure tale, and a celebration of the spirit of exploration.