My Grandmother’s Sketchbook: Under Mont Blanc

A 30-year-old sketchbook leads Max Romey to the Mont Blanc region. The Alaska-based watercolor artist and environmental advocate sets out to follow in the footsteps of his grandmother, who visited this landscape in the late 1990s and captured it in dozens of drawings. With mountain guide Hillary Gerardi, Max attempts to locate each sketch’s exact origin point. Many match perfectly—until the Mer de Glace throws him off course. The glacier has changed too much in 30 years to recognize. A 30-year-old sketchbook leads Max Romey to the Mont Blanc region. The Alaska-based watercolor artist and environmental advocate sets out to follow in the footsteps of his grandmother, who visited this landscape in the late 1990s and captured it in dozens of drawings. With mountain guide Hillary Gerardi, Max attempts to locate each sketch’s exact origin point. Many match perfectly—until the Mer de Glace throws him off course. The glacier has changed too much in 30 years to recognize.