{"id":201627,"date":"2025-12-24T13:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/201627\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T13:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:59:16","slug":"the-best-climbing-photos-of-2025-ranked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/201627\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Climbing Photos of 2025, Ranked"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published December 24, 2025 03:00AM<\/p>\n

Climbing photographers might be the greatest unsung heroes of our sport. Hanging on fixed lines in howling winds. Trudging through deep snow overloaded with gear. And always patiently waiting\u2014for golden hour, for the desperate crux, for the elation of topping out. This year, photographers captured moments that transported us right there to the crux, to the rest, and to the summit. They appealed to our curiosity, answered our questions, and imparted a sense of wonder.<\/p>\n

Below, we share the best climbing photos of 2025, the moments they depict, and the photographers who made them.<\/p>\n

The best climbing photos of 2025, ranked
\n13. Fighting up a first ascent in Madagascar
\n\"Luan(Photo: Will Sharp)<\/p>\n

In September, an American team established Famadihana (5.13a)<\/a>, a 300-meter line in Madagascar\u2019s Tsaranoro Valley. In this shot, climber Luan Gaeumann fights up a 5.13a pitch. The hyper-focused expression on his face\u2014and his forearms\u2014say it all.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: One member of the four-person Famadihana team, Will Sharp is a climber and photographer.<\/p>\n

12. Ageless on an 8,000-meter peak
\n\"carlos(Photo: Luis Miguel Lo\u0301pez Soriano)<\/p>\n

Spaniard Carlos Soria Font\u00e1n broke the world record<\/a> for oldest person to summit an 8,000-meter peak by a staggering six years on September 26. He promptly told Climbing: \u201cI do not care about records.\u201d For this lifelong climber, he does it because he loves it\u2014and you can see it in his eyes atop Manaslu\u2019s summit (8,163m) here.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Luis Miguel Lo\u0301pez Soriano<\/a> is a Spanish photographer and videographer who works in the mountains. He has been climbing with and documenting Soria since 2011. He is also the author of several books, including Mountains Through a Camera. Follow along @luis_m_soriano<\/a><\/p>\n

11. Exposure, visualized
\n\"\"(Photo: Jan Novak)<\/p>\n

A steep, spare face. Hundreds of feet drift below. And hundreds more loom above. The level of exposure captured here is staggering. In this shot, Marianna \u201cMango\u201d Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez makes the first female free ascent<\/a> of Bravo Les Filles (5.13d; 2,000ft) in Madagascar. Lynn Hill first developed the line decades before. Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez climbed the route with Sasha DiGiulian this summer.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Jan Novak is a French photographer and filmmaker who specializes in shots of climbers and skiers. Follow along @jan_novak_photography<\/a><\/p>\n

10. Climbing in skirts
\n\"\"(Photo: Manuel Seoane)<\/p>\n

Last spring, we sent Bolivian photojournalist Manuel Seoane to explore Huayna Potosi with Cecilia Llusco (pictured right), a leader of the local Cholitas Escaladores movement. Seoane facilitated an interview with Llusco<\/a> about how she first began climbing in a country racked with gender discrimination and why she\u2019ll always wear a skirt when she climbs. This photo is a study in visual contrasts\u2014and a landscape as stoic as the resilient subjects within it.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Manuel Seoane is a Bolivian freelance photojournalist and hydrologist. He is a Reuters and Pulitzer Center fellow who has worked on projects with Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more publications. Follow along @mnwlswne<\/a><\/p>\n

9. A dyno, but make it casual
\n\"\"(Photo: Yulen Calleja Ordiz \/ Red Bull)<\/p>\n

Has anyone ever looked more chill catching a feet-off dyno than Oriane Bertone does here? During a day of bouldering<\/a> around her local spot\u2014Fontainebleau\u2014the French comp climber looks like she could be merely contemplating where to go to dinner in Paris that night.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Yulen Calleja Ordiz is a freelance photographer. Follow along @yulen.calleja<\/a><\/p>\n

8. Sunlight through Century Crack
\n\"Mary(Photo: Tony Archie Kim)<\/p>\n

Mary Eden hangs from the crack during her first female ascent <\/a>of Century Crack (5.14b). The feat blew us away as much as the photos. Not everyone is a sun flare fan, but we love the back-lit silhouette of upside-down Eden and the glow cast across sandstone.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Tony Archie Kim<\/a> is a visual artist and photographer with a background in architecture. Follow along @tony.archie<\/a><\/p>\n

7. Suspense on slab
\n\"Ethan(Photo: Victoria Kohner-Flanagan)<\/p>\n

The suspense builds as Ethan Morf reaches a chalky hand upward, casting an ominous shadow on the granite slab of Free Grand (5.13a) in Squamish. Darkness sweeps across the valley below. In May, Morf became<\/a> the youngest person to free climb El Capitan in a day at 20 years old.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Victoria Kohner-Flanagan<\/a> is a climber and photographer who lives on the open road. Follow along @victoriakohnerflanagan\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

6. In the ether of an unclimbed peak
\n\"Jannu(Photo: Thibaut Marot)<\/p>\n

French alpinist Benjamin V\u00e9drines makes his way up the final ridgeline leading to a summit upon which no human has stood before: Jannu East (24,501ft) in the Himalaya. This photograph illustrates well a reflection that V\u00e9drines shared with Climbing<\/a> following his ascent: \u201cMy ego \u2026 I feel satisfied. I am a different person than I was one week ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Thibaut Marot is a French photographer and filmmaker. He is working on a film about Kelleghan and Pineau\u2019s ascent. Follow along @thibaut.marot\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Janja Garnbret\u2019s triumphant top-out
\n\"janja(Photo: Caleb Timmerman \u00a9 Nakajima\/Timmerman\/IFSC)<\/p>\n

The word \u201cdominant\u201d is often used to define the astounding career of Janja Garnbret. A case in point was the Slovenian climber\u2019s performance<\/a> at the Seoul World Championships in September. This picture shows Garnbret at the top of her winning lead climb; that same week, she also took gold in Boulder. Suffused with triumphant joy, this comp shot made our list of the best climbing photos of 2025.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Caleb Timmerman<\/a> is an adventure and commercial photographer and the strategic partnerships manager at Access Fund. Follow along @calebtimmermanphoto<\/a><\/p>\n

4. One move at a time
\n\"best(Photo: Jon Glassberg)<\/p>\n

Last January, Chris Weidner wrote about<\/a> how he managed to climb his first 5.14c as a 50-year-old dad. The Green Mile is a 130-foot route filled with nasty kneebars, sidepulls, and underclings. \u201cOne move at a time\u201d became his mantra to the top. Gazing at this photo, we feel ourselves cascading backward into the rest right there with Weidner\u2014pumped, breathing, ready for the next move.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: A pro climber for 20 years, Jon Glassberg is now focused on his work as a photographer and filmmaker at Louder Than Eleven<\/a>, the production company he owns with his wife Jess Glassberg. Recently, he directed the film Girl Climber about Emily Harrington. Follow along @jonglassberg<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Peering down from Thank God Ledge
\n\"woman(Photo: Thibaut Marot)<\/p>\n

In the midst of her first female Yosemite Triple Crown<\/a> with Kate Kelleghan, French climber Laura Pineau peers down from her perch on Half Dome. That day, the pair had already climbed Mount Watkins and El Cap. As one of the best climbing photos of 2025, this meditative shot captures a fleeting moment during a nonstop 23 hours and 36 minutes.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Thibaut Marot is a French photographer and filmmaker. He is working on a film about Kelleghan and Pineau\u2019s ascent. Follow along @thibaut.marot\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Lynn out of place and time
\n\"Lynn(Photo: Francois Lebeau)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re always doing things in a predictable way, you lose that creativity and adaptability,\u201d Lynn Hill shared with us<\/a> this year. Hill has become a legend for her creativity, seeing possibilities and lines where no other climber could. Her power of vision radiates in this timeless portrait, where she fixes her gaze on the viewer with equal parts sagacity and Mona Lisa smile.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Francoise Lebeau<\/a> is a French photographer specializing in documenting adventures and portraits of adventurers. Follow along @francoiselebeau<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Alone on Cerro Torre in winter
\n\"Colin(Photo: Ty Lekki)<\/p>\n

Cerro Torre saw its first winter solo ascent<\/a> in early September. Here, alpinist Colin Haley navigates the final pitches of the Ragni route (WI5+ M4). The climbing is highly technical, but the surreal form of the snow-capped tower resembles a Seussian dream.<\/p>\n

About the photographer: Ty Lekki is a photographer and filmmaker based in El Chalt\u00e9n, Argentina. Follow along @tylekki<\/a><\/p>\n