American photographer Kittiya Pawlowski captures spectacular images of snow leopard in Everest region

KATHMANDU: Kittiya Pawlowski, an American photographer, has captured breathtaking pictures of the snow leopard in the Mt Everest region of Nepal.

Publishing the photos on her website and social media Pawlowski said that she backpacked 103 miles on foot to photograph one of the world’s most elusive animals- the snow leopard.

“On a bitterly cold morning, I followed the icy rim of a gaping chasm, scoping out the Khumbu Valley with my Nikkor 500mm f/4 lens. At 18,000 feet (5486 meters) the weather was unpredictable. Within minutes one was alternatively freezing or roasting in the sunshine. This altitude is the limit of where snow leopards roam; however, to get the best view of the valley, I had to climb. Squinting through my camera’s telephoto lens, I noticed something in the shadow of Mount Pumori. At first, I thought it was a rock, but it was exactly what I was looking for”, Pawlowski wrote on Facebook.

Initially, Pawlowski had started her search from the Annapurna conservation area in north-central Nepal. After discovering the first signs of the elusive snow leopard she headed east into the Everest Region where she backpacked for Sagarmatha National Park.

Pawlowski mentioned on her website she was able to capture the best shot of the snow leopard in Khumbu glacier lake at around 4 AM on October 9. Overlooking Phantom Alley, a field of ice pinnacles, was a snow leopard.

Pawlowski had left Gorak Shep in the northeast and crossed a frozen lakebed at night while carrying 25 pounds of camera equipment.

“After backpacking through Earth’s most forbidding terrain, lung-starving altitudes, soaring peaks, and high deserts—this was the most difficult and rewarding set of photos I’ve ever taken”, she wrote.