Fittingly mountains are also the center of literary forms. In a poem by Gary Snyder, a Cold Mountain path becomes a metaphor for the trajectory of life where the trials of the trail lead to a seat among the clouds:
“Clambering up the Cold Mountain path,A motion graphics video by Al Boardman illustrates the visual essence and characteristics of Earth's most extraordinary mountains from Everest to Monadnock:
The Cold Mountain trail goes on and on:
The long gorge choked with scree and boulders,
The wide creek, the mist-blurred grass.
The moss is slippery, though there's been no rain
The pine sings, but there's no wind.
Who can leap the world's ties
And sit with me among the white clouds?”
― Gary Snyder, Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems
For the Love of Mountains by Al Boardman on Vimeo.
| Everest | Highest Mountain in Altitude |
| K2 | Hardest Mountain to Climb |
| Annapurna I | Most Dangerous Mountain |
| Gangkhar Puensum | Highest Unclimbed Mountain |
| Ojos del Salado | Highest Active Volcano |
| Kailash | Most Sacred Mountain |
| Logan | Mountain with Largest Circumference |
| Kilimanjaro | Highest Free Standing Mountain |
| Mauna Kea | Tallest Mountain from Base to Summit |
| Monadnock | Most Climbed Mountain |
John Muir wrote,
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."Sacred places are physical and mental loci we return to for solace, well-being, peace and good tidings. On returning to climb in the Sierra Nevada after 31 years, Gary Snyder wrote,
— John Muir, Our National Parks
“Range after range of mountains.
Year after year after year.
I am still in love.”
― Gary Snyder
REFERENCES
- Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems, Gary Snyder, 1980.
- Sacred Mountains, Wikipedia.
