BY NINA STROCHLIC PHOTOGRAPH BY KRYSTLE WRIGHT‘ IF ANY OF US HAD FALLEN
IN, IT WAS A GUARANTEED
FATALITY WITH THOSE
CONDITIONS.’
—Krystle WrightTHREE MONTHS OUT
AN UNSEEN ROUTE
Jutting from the waters
along the Tasman Penin-
sula, the Totem Pole is one
of the world’s most dra-
matic column climbs. The
sea stack is often photo-
graphed from the more
accessible north side;
Wright wanted to cap-
ture a southern ascent
along a route called the
Sorcerer. Climber Mayan
Smith- Gobat would have
to descend the neighbor-
ing rock face and swing
herself across a channel
on a rope to grab a hand-
hold. Wright, Smith-Gobat,
and a film crew plotted for
months how to complete
and document the climb.ONE WEEK OUT
ESSENTIAL
PACKING LIST
Supplies for rock climbing,
swimming, and photog-
raphy filled two bags.
The stormy Tasmanian
weather required backup
down jackets.- Flippers (“a very unique
accessory to a climbing
harness”) - Drone with remote-
operated flash - Nearly 700 feet of rope
- Dry bag for crossing
the channel with
camera equipment - Dry clothes to change
into after swimming - The only thing missing,
says Wright, was “sanity.”
LAUNCH
READY
TO SHOOT
After two days of trials
and setup, Wright drove
to the peninsula, hiked
two hours on a trail, rap-
pelled a 330-foot cliff, tied
a rope around her waist,
jumped into the ocean,
swam across the channel,
and climbed up the other
side. Clipping herself into
a harness, she hung from
a tightrope as Smith-
Gobat scrambled up the
Totem Pole. At the “blue
hour”—around 5:30 p.m.—
Wright radioed the drone
operator. When a flash
from the drone overhead
illuminated the rock, she
pressed the shutter.THE IDEA TO SHOOT an ascent of the Totem Pole, a stone tower in
Tasmania, came to adventure photographer Krystle Wright in a dream.
Years later, as she dangled from a line she’d rigged across nearby rocks,
with a drone lighting the scene from above, she finally got her shot.POINT OF VIEW
a photographer waits for the perfect moment to fulfill a dream.
AUGUST 2019 31