Forest Town snapper Jamie Wragg (32), from the One Moment in Time studio, was treated for frostbite and hypothermia after encountering severe weather conditions on Mont Blanc.

Jamie and his climbing partner Glen set off on the expedition on 14th March and conditions for the first day's climbing were excellent.
But it all began to go wrong when Jamie started to develop symptoms of mountain sickness after they reached 3,800m — although this turned out be just the start of their problems.

"We were pinned down in the Chamonix Valley for two days because of heavy snow," he said.

"The temperature was reaching — 15 degrees and even our drinking water was freezing inside the sleeping bag."

But Jamie said he first realised the true horror of the situation the next day — when they saw a friend who had frozen to death.

"We had become friendly with this Spanish climber and his friend before we found him," Jamie said. "We found him doubled over, frozen solid in the cold.

'Disturbing'

"It was bad enough seeing him like that but it was even more disturbing to think we had been chatting to him just a day or so before.

"We later found out six people had died on the mountain while we were up there."

The climbers carried on buoyed after crossing paths with celebrated adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes — but it wasn't long before their own lives were put in danger.

"We were crossing an ice bridge when my snow shoe snapped," Jamie said. "I put my foot down only to watch the snow fall away — it was a crevasse.

"Glen managed to grab me before we fell and if he hadn't caught me I've no doubt I would have died."

And Jamie was struggling to take any photos at all because he was forced to take his glove off in the freezing temperatures to start snapping.

He said: "It was such an effort to do anything up there and I only ended up with about 150 pictures — I'd normally take more than that in one afternoon's shoot."

The incredible adventure came to an end after six days when Jamie began to suffer frostbite in his toes and caught hypothermia.

"All a sudden I felt my feet freeze solid," he said. "It was the strangest feeling. I tried to carry on but eventually I had to say to Glen, 'I need to get off the mountain'."

Jamie was treated for frostbite and hypothermia at a hospital and sent home after two days.

He thinks the doctors have manage to prevent gangrene in his toes but it will take him around six months to recover from the ordeal.

"This expedition nearly cost me my life," he said. "I just hope people take an interest in the photographs –– which should look great despite all the problems."

He has raised more than £800 already for Cancer Research and photographs are going on sale at the studio on the 19th April.

For more information contact Mansfield 644437 or visit www.momentintimephotography.co.uk.