Milky Way bow over hiker on Faltegartenkoepfl Tyrol, Austria. I named the pic "Per Aspera ad Astra" (through hardships to the stars) for I haven't experienced a comparable cold bivouac the whole winter (and yes, we´ve had a few this winter season ). Pretty weird that the coldest one in winter season 2014/15 had been the first bivouac in spring. The whole equipment had been covered with frost within minutes. If I hadn´t used a "Lensheater" I would´t have been able to realize a single 30 sec shot without frost on the front lens. After one hour of shooting even my clothes had been covered with frost and after 3 hours I had to get in my expedition down sleeping bag for my toes had been completely numb. At least I have been able to realize two shots I had been thinking of for months. Only in spring the milky way has the perfect alignment for the "bow" over the hiker. In the light polluted valley you can see my home 1500m below. During my toes were coming back to "life" tinglingly and stingingly, my second camera had been shooting a timelapse sequence for the rest of the night.
Per Aspera ad Astra
