Mountain guide Gavin Lang is intimately familiar with New Zealand’s 24 highest peaks but has also become one of New Zealand’s premier adventure photographers. His first book, Seeking the Light, showcases stunning imagery and his adventures above 3000m.

Seeking the Light is an intriguing title; what does it mean?

I wanted something that addressed seeking light in a photographic sense and seeking en-’light’-enment in the mountains. Mountaineers often scale south faces in the shade, climbing up to reach the daylight, so in the mountaineering, photographic and spiritual sense we’re literally seeking the light.

Do you have a favourite image from the book?

The photo of Ruari Macfarlane just starting a descent of Mt Tasman / Horokoau springs to mind. The sun had dipped below the horizon and the hard ice required our absolute concentration, but we were alert to the dangers and being the most intensely tuned in to each other as I’ve ever experienced in a climbing partnership. We kept moving through the night to beat the cold.

Your book has beautiful photography and also concise accounts of each adventure. Was that a challenge for a first-time author?

I really had two purposes in mind: to shoot this beautiful place that I love to climb and, more importantly, there were messages I had discovered and ruminated on, and I felt the stronger urge to get those on paper. They would come part and parcel with the guided trips I offer, but I thought they might be getting a bit tired, like dad jokes, so that was a sign I needed to write them down and move on.

You write about an injury that became the catalyst for major life changes. What happened? 

In 2009 I went rock climbing and strained something which developed into an unshakeable pain. It took an MRI to show I had three herniated discs in my neck, so whether I could continue guiding and climbing was in jeopardy. But during a soul-searching year of trying to figure things out, I was leaning into more spiritual avenues and meditation, which became a giant step on my road to recovery. My desire was that if I did get back into mountain guiding, I would try to give back more, and being put in touch with Adventure Therapy New Zealand was the turning point.

What’s ‘adventure therapy’?

It’s about using nature and adventure as a therapeutic intervention. I noticed how people would open up over the course of several days in the mountains and I really enjoy doing longer trips where I can interact with them and build relationships. I take them into an environment they’re not used to, and out of their comfort zone. 

It’s a confidence builder and has a massive influence on people’s decision-making in the ‘outside world’. But a lot of it is facilitating and just listening to what they have to say.  

How are you able to capture shots of climbers in situations where just balancing must be an enormous challenge?

Safety first. I’ll often shoot my climbing partners when they’re in a precarious position, but that doesn’t mean I am. Some people might get vertigo just looking at the cover. If I can send a chill down the spine of readers, then my job is done.

Now that the book has been released, what’s next? 

I’m working on an associated project – the film Seeking the Light. That will allow me to go deeper into the mental health benefits of adventure. My goal is to move people emotionally, not just to have 90 minutes of ‘stoke’ and ‘look how cool this is,’ without any real story.

– Seeking the Light is published on September 12 and can be purchased in the Wilderness store. Subscribers get a 10% discount.