Ted Hesser
There’s an old mountaineering
saw: the summit is only the half-
way point. In 2018, Hesser made
an attempt on the east face of
Aguja de l’S (far left), on Pata-
gonia’s Cerro Fitz Roy ridgeline,
with his girlfriend, Martina Tibell,
and friend Bud Miller. On the
way back, the river crossing had
become treacherous. “Conditions
in Patagonia are constantly in
flux,” Hesser says, “and the river
was much higher.” As he framed
the shot, he also prepared to jump
in should his friends lose their
footing. Luckily, they crossed with-
out incident. —E.R.
OUTSIDE MAGAZINE 55