13 Most Brilliant Climbing Photos of 2025, Ranked
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—for 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.
Below, we share the best climbing photos of 2025, the moments they depict, and the photographers who made them.
The best climbing photos of 2025, ranked
13. Fighting up a first ascent in Madagascar
In September, an American team established Famadihana (5.13a), a 300-meter line in Madagascar’s Tsaranoro Valley. In this shot, climber Luan Gaeumann fights up a 5.13a pitch. The hyper-focused expression on his face—and his forearms—say it all.
About the photographer: One member of the four-person Famadihana team, Will Sharp is a climber and photographer.
12. Ageless on an 8,000-meter peak
Spaniard Carlos Soria Fontán broke the world record for oldest person to summit an 8,000-meter peak by a staggering six years on September 26. He promptly told Climbing: “I do not care about records.” For this lifelong climber, he does it because he loves it—and you can see it in his eyes atop Manaslu’s summit (8,163m) here.
About the photographer: Luis Miguel López Soriano 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
11. Exposure, visualized
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 “Mango” Ordóñez makes the first female free ascent of Bravo Les Filles (5.13d; 2,000ft) in Madagascar. Lynn Hill first developed the line decades before. Ordóñez climbed the route with Sasha DiGiulian this summer.
About the photographer: Jan Novak is a French photographer and filmmaker who specializes in shots of climbers and skiers. Follow along @jan_novak_photography
10. Climbing in skirts
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 about how she first began climbing in a country racked with gender discrimination and why she’ll always wear a skirt when she climbs. This photo is a study in visual contrasts—and a landscape as stoic as the resilient subjects within it.
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
9. A dyno, but make it casual
Has anyone ever looked more chill catching a feet-off dyno than Oriane Bertone does here? During a day of bouldering around her local spot—Fontainebleau—the French comp climber looks like she could be merely contemplating where to go to dinner in Paris that night.
About the photographer: Yulen Calleja Ordiz is a freelance photographer. Follow along @yulen.calleja
8. Sunlight through Century Crack
Mary Eden hangs from the crack during her first female ascent 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.
About the photographer: Tony Archie Kim is a visual artist and photographer with a background in architecture. Follow along @tony.archie
7. Suspense on slab
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 the youngest person to free climb El Capitan in a day at 20 years old.
About the photographer: Victoria Kohner-Flanagan is a climber and photographer who lives on the open road. Follow along @victoriakohnerflanagan
6. In the ether of an unclimbed peak
French alpinist Benjamin Védrines 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 Védrines shared with Climbing following his ascent: “My ego … I feel satisfied. I am a different person than I was one week ago.”
About the photographer: Thibaut Marot is a French photographer and filmmaker. He is working on a film about Kelleghan and Pineau’s ascent. Follow along @thibaut.marot
5. Janja Garnbret’s triumphant top-out
The word “dominant” is often used to define the astounding career of Janja Garnbret. A case in point was the Slovenian climber’s performance 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.
About the photographer: Caleb Timmerman is an adventure and commercial photographer and the strategic partnerships manager at Access Fund. Follow along @calebtimmermanphoto
4. One move at a time
Last January, Chris Weidner wrote about 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. “One move at a time” became his mantra to the top. Gazing at this photo, we feel ourselves cascading backward into the rest right there with Weidner—pumped, breathing, ready for the next move.
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, the production company he owns with his wife Jess Glassberg. Recently, he directed the film Girl Climber about Emily Harrington. Follow along @jonglassberg
3. Peering down from Thank God Ledge
In the midst of her first female Yosemite Triple Crown 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.
About the photographer: Thibaut Marot is a French photographer and filmmaker. He is working on a film about Kelleghan and Pineau’s ascent. Follow along @thibaut.marot
2. Lynn out of place and time
“If you’re always doing things in a predictable way, you lose that creativity and adaptability,” Lynn Hill shared with us 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.
About the photographer: Francoise Lebeau is a French photographer specializing in documenting adventures and portraits of adventurers. Follow along @francoiselebeau
1. Alone on Cerro Torre in winter
Cerro Torre saw its first winter solo ascent 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.
About the photographer: Ty Lekki is a photographer and filmmaker based in El Chaltén, Argentina. Follow along @tylekki
The post 13 Most Brilliant Climbing Photos of 2025, Ranked appeared first on Climbing.