Awe-inspiring views of high peaks as they have never been seen before, using cutting-edge satellite technology. Some photos are terrestrial, not satellite, and were taken by a person wearing crampons and pressing a shutter.
Mountains have long been viewed as places of beauty and faith, challenge and discovery. Now this unique book presents the earth’s extremes in an entirely new way. Using high-resolution satellite data, scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have created a series of incredibly accurate digital 3D maps of mountain landscapes. These digital terrain models have in turn been used to generate amazing photo-realistic images, creating virtual landscapes seen from previously impossible viewpoints in an unprecedented degree of detail.
Unseen Extremes features 13 of the world’s greatest mountains, chosen not only for their magnificence but because they also offer a condensed history of mountaineering, packed with tales of historic ascents and new routes, tragic failures and memorable moments.
The milestones of mountain exploration are presented alongside maps, infographics and profiles that bring the traits of each mountain to life, while location photographs and first-hand accounts by climbers past and present complete the dazzling picture.
Science, technology, history and geography are brought together with an unassailable passion for adventure, opening up a whole new perspective on the planet’s most captivating extremes.
Features:
KailashMont BlancMatterhornUshbaDenaliAconcaguaNanda DeviMount EverestK2DhaulagiriNanga ParbatAnnapurnaMasherbrum
Mountains marks a new milestone in Earth observation and Alpine exploration. For the first time, a special recording process and a technique developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) allow the satellite recording of three-dimensional views from 300 miles above with a resolution in the range of a few meters. Photo-realistic images are created in this manner from perspectives denied even to mountaineers and helicopter pilots.
In addition to highly accurate detailed models of individual regions, the DLR generates a global three-dimensional elevation model of Earth in unprecedented quality. For this purpose, two German satellites are currently circling the earth at a speed of more than 15,000 miles per hour―separated by a mere 500 feet. Taken together, both techniques offer a detailed view of a world that still pushes human beings to their limits―the mountainous regions of our planet. For this book Reinhold Messner has selected thirteen peaks and routes to feature, as they’ve never been seen before.
