A kid asks what's beyond the mountains

At five years old, Alex Ratson looked at distant peaks from a ski hill and asked his dad what lay beyond them. That question sparked a lifetime of climbing and adventure.

“Dad, what's on the other side of those mountains?”

A climbing club takes a kid under its wing

After meeting the Heathens climbing club at a slideshow, Chris Barner created a five-year training plan starting in 1995 that went far beyond technical skills to include navigation, packing, and stove maintenance.

“I thought it would be a funny social experiment to see how far he could push a kid and his dad.”

Visual storytelling becomes his voice

At 13, Ratson took a media studies elective focused on video production and got hooked. He pursued film school at Capilano University, training in television and motion picture production.

Film school teaches narrative structure

Ratson's formal training in television and broadcast production taught him narrative storytelling, which photography programs often skip. Every story needs a beginning, middle, and end.

The best climbing photos show the struggle

Ratson loves capturing the beginning and end of climbs, not just the send. Those moments reveal the crying, laughing, shivering, and real memories that make a story worth telling.

“Those photos tell the story rather than simply showing the climber as a badass who walked up and sent their project.”

Journalism tools shape climbing photography

Ratson applies the five Ws of journalism captions and EDFAT framework to climbing shots. This ensures a photo answers who, what, when, where, and why in a single frame.

“If you can capture those things, you have a picture worth a thousand words.”

Show the place, not just the climber

When shooting on the Chief, Ratson avoids overhead angles that hide the landscape. He positions himself to show Howe Sound and how the granite monolith connects to Squamish.

Access is 90 percent of the picture

Climbers can more easily become climbing photographers than photographers can become climbers. You need to physically reach the spot and keep up with top-tier athletes.

“Like anything in photography, access is 90 percent of the picture.”

The business side is a race to the bottom

With an oversaturated market and devalued media, climbing photographers need multiple income streams. Ratson freelances, sells stock images, and works as a visual media producer for Climb On Equipment.

Cold gave him permanent nerve damage

Ratson damaged his right index finger holding a metal camera in freezing conditions while shooting ice climbing. He kept shooting anyway because he knew something would happen the moment he put it down.

Mental strain outweighs physical demands

The hardest part of climbing photography is mental, not physical. Training can overcome physical challenges, but rallying teams for uncomfortable conditions and staying out for blue-hour light takes real patience.

Low wealth goals keep him going

Ratson doesn't own a house or have kids. He drives a 10-plus-year-old car and owns no debt. This financial flexibility lets him pursue meaningful work instead of chasing money.

“Being comfortable with a low amount of traditional wealth helps.”

Passion is the best subject trait

The climbers Ratson most enjoys shooting are genuinely passionate about what they're doing. The worst subjects are those performing purely for the camera.

Evan Beatty taught him about respect

When shooting Evan Beatty's route development on a wet December day, Ratson stayed the full day instead of leaving after getting the money shot. This built mutual respect and led to more collaborations.

“Staying on the wall out of respect goes a long way towards maintaining rapport.”

His heroes span climbing and cinema

Galen Rowell inspired Ratson as a climber-photographer. Outside climbing, he draws from photojournalists like Ted Grant and filmmakers like Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki.

Getting shots out there is the hardest part

Behind the camera, problems can be solved with grit and practice. Getting images published and standing out in a crowded field of talented photographers is the real challenge.

“There are many amazing photographers who are not professionally successful.”

Tell meaningful stories, not celebrity climbs

Ratson's biggest aspiration is telling new and meaningful stories. He'd rather photograph an unknown climber on an easy route than a celebrity on the hardest climb.

“That is what keeps me going.”