The Velvet Queen
Friends who grew up in Puerto Rico or California are either surfers or have a love of the water. In one way or another they understand and embrace the surfing culture. Think sunglasses, colorful flowered shorts, blonde hair. If you grew up in New York City you know the difference between a bagel made here and covered with a smear and those made everywhere else. It’s unclear why. The water, the process or, perhaps, just the perception? Who knows?
If you grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, as I did, you maintain a love of the mountains. Their sheer beauty that shifts from season to season. The brilliant and varied colors of green during the summer months. The gentle, quiet color of the moss on the earth. The vibrant shades of the forest. The rich, dark colors of the stately pines. During the autumn months the vivid colors of red and gold create landscapes that are so rich and stunning they appear as a painting. When the snow begins to fall the white peaks are majestic against the blue sky. There is always sense of mystery when the ragged peaks are hidden in the mist of fog.
Perhaps because of my love of the mountains I was attracted to the documentary, “The Velvet Queen.” The film follows Vincent Munier, one of the world’s most renowned wildlife photographers, and Sylvain Tesson, the writer and adventurer, as they explore the mountains in Tibet in search of unique animals, with the goal of photographing the rarest and most difficult cat to capture, the snow leopard.
The film, in French with subtitles, follows the two men as they “blind” themselves, sitting patiently for hours hoping to spot the animals they are seeking. We experience the landscape as the weather changes and take pleasure as they do when a rare animal appears in their lens. It is a film about patience, about nature, about exploration and considers how we, as humans, interact with nature.
Watching the documentary, as I have many times, I thought of the time I was hiking alone on the Lonesome Lake trail and encountered a moose. We startled one another. The large imposing creature took one long look at me and then turned and walked away. Or the time, hiking as young teenagers, it was necessary to take refuge in a cave during a storm when we were making our way down Mt. Adams.
This is the time in the late spring and early summer when I begin exploring the Appalachian Mountain Club website thinking about all the possibilities for hiking in the mountains. Revisiting the many huts, we knew as children. Although now it seems everyone has become aware of the beauty of the White Mountains and reservations must be booked in advance. Perhaps that’s why I am so drawn to watching and then re-watching “The Velvet Queen.”
You can find the documentary on Amazon Prime. Sylvain Tesson wrote about his experience in a book entitled, The Art of Patience: Seeking the Snow Leopard in Tibet. The soundtrack for the film, by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, can be found on a Spotify playlist under, La Panthere des Neiges.