Spectacular images

The situation: Falling into a crevasse

After having to constantly accept the weather forecasts, today we are collecting film and photo material for the AirMarker image and explanatory video in front of an authentic backdrop and under real conditions. While the peaks of Piz Palü to the south of us are already bathed in sunlight, our path lies deep in shadow.

It's early in the morning. 90 minutes ago we – Alec and Diego, the film team from Hals und Beinbruch, the AirMarker host Roman Flütsch, mountain guide Michi Senn and I – set off from the Diavolezza mountain station and are now traversing the Pers glacier at 2800n m above sea level. The steel-blue sky reconciles us with the bone-chilling cold. No warming rays of sunlight reach us here, where we are travelling today. Michi trudges ahead of us through the fresh snow, leading us safely and purposefully to our destination, the gigantic crevasses. Our eyes roam over the impressive, deserted surroundings. Soon the silence is interrupted by the whirring of rotors. The Swiss Heli helicopter appears in front of us in the sky and lands a short time later in the impressive glacier landscape. On board are film and photo cameras, drone, microphones, recording equipment, helium bottles and of course the AirMarker prototype.

The descent into the crevasse is part of the plan

Besides the search for a missing person, the script foresees a fictitious fall into a crevasse. The crevasse is huge and intimidating. Planned, under the watchful eye of Michi Senn and secured by the rest of the team, Roman Flütsch and the cameraman descend down its icy walls. Once at the bottom, they release the AirMarker balloon. It finds its way out of the ice crack, climbs over the edge, further up into the air and, despite the dim light, hovers well in the air, visible from far away. Later, the spectacular film and photo shots clearly reveal that the challenging mission to the Pers Glacier was a total success.