Read “The Light of Seven Mountain Suns,” about the Himalayan Cataract Project and Sight-to-Summit Expedition, by senior editor Nick Heil in the December issue of ϳԹ, now on stands, then see more of photographer Ace Kvale’s shots here.
Sight-to-Summit Gallery
To view an exclusive gallery of the expedition, .An Ophir, Colorado-based adventure photographer, Kvale loved the priorities behind the story about a group of climbers who traveled to Nepal to scale a mountain—and to help American doctor Geoff Tabin as he performed cataract surgeries on hundreds of impoverished villagers. “It’s fantastic to see medical science put to such incredible humanitarian use,” says Kvale. “Geoff and the people he works with are truly knights in shining armor.”
Kvale’s adventure photography had taken him to the mountains of Russia, Alaska, Patagonia, Africa, New Zealand, and the Middle East. In addition, he’s participated in over a dozen Himalayan expeditions. He has photographed climbers in the Alps, skiers on the volcanoes of Ecuador, and visual effects for the movie Cliffhanger in the Dolomites. Still, his participation in the Sight-to-Summit Expedition stands out in his mind as the most meaningful. “This was a really fulfilling trip,” he says. “We had a much higher calling, a much higher purpose. If we can raise more awareness for curable blindness, what a satisfying thing that is.”
For more on Kvale and his work, visit his site,
To learn how you can help with the Himalayan Cataract Project, visit the project’s official site at
To read the official dispatches from the North Face-sponsored Sight-to-Summit Expedition, to: