Time-lapse trickery: Photograph of 28 climbers on needle mountain that looks like it has been photoshopped


It may look like it has been through some serious digital altering to show the progress of one climber trekking across a mountain top, known as time-lapse photography, but in fact this shot has not been tampered with at all.

This incredible snap show not one, but 28 climbers posing in perfect symmetry as they scale a near-vertical mountain in the Italian Alps.

It was taken on the 'Ago del Torrone', perched 3,000ft above sea level, and took five hours of climbing and preparation in freezing temperature.

Perfection: The project took months of planning and over five hours of climbing and positioning to get the climbers just right

International project: The crew of 28 included climbers from all over Europe who travelled to Italy to take on the daunting Ago del Torrone, known as Cleopatra's Needle

Up we go: The incentive for the photograph was to create an image of true extreme sports Robert Boesch, 58, said: ‘It took several months of organisation and I am really happy with the results. ‘It took five hours to climb and required plenty of preparation. ‘There was a lot of pressure but luckily I was working with very good guides and that was the key. ‘The resulting image is exactly what we wanted. It can be seen that it is individual people on natural rocks. This picture is real and alive.’