The Most Spectacular Photos of 2017

Mauli Dhan climbs a hundred feet up a bamboo rope ladder to his prize: a hive filled with neurotoxic honey. Smoke from smoldering grass disorients the bees, possibly reducing the number of stings Mauli will suffer. Before he grabs the support rope beside him, a misstep could be fatal.

This photo was originally published in “The Last Death-Defying Honey Hunter of Nepal,” in July 2017.