Weekly Photo Challenge: UP /Wild Weekly Photo Challenge: MOUNTAINS

“May your dreams be larger than mountains, and may you have the courage to scale their summits.”

Harley King

LOOKING UP

Let me begin by saying, I have always loved the mountains. Not sure why actually, I grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood where the land was quite flat. But I chose to go to a college among the mountains, and have traveled to many wonderful mountain locations around the world. This week, the Weekly Photo Challenge “Up”, and the Let’s Be Wild Weekly Challenge “Mountains” have given me the opportunity to share some of my favorite mountain photos.

SUN-KISSED MOUNTAINSIDE

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer.”

John Muir

I’ve had the wonderful fortune to experience the Alps, the Cascades, the Rockies, the Alaska Range, the Great Dividing Range of Australia, and the Andes – each as fantastic as the next. Snow-capped or covered with flowers, steep or gently sloping, rocky or Alpine – I am totally enamored with them, no matter their shape and form. There is nothing more amazing than looking up toward the summit of one of the world’s great mountains as it climbs ever higher toward the sun.

GOLDEN CARPET

“It is easier to go down the hill than up; but the view is much better at the top.”

Henry Ward Beecher

As a young college student, I studied abroad. One of my most vivid memories, after arriving with my friends in Austria in the dead of night, was waking in a lovely bed with crisp, lace bordered sheets, surrounded by the magnificent snow-capped Alps. It was the middle of July and the snow, contrasting with the alpine flowers, was amazing. That was a very long time ago but if I close my eyes, I can see it still.

AZURE

“When planning to climb a mountain, pack a light heart.”

Dan May

Today, I live in an area of the world aptly named “The Lowcountry”, because for the most part we are right at sea level. The contrast of our everyday life by the sea, and our travels to the most mountainous regions of the world, is a dichotomy by which we are amazed and for which we are ever grateful. Because of this contrast, I’m including this post as a response to Ailsa’s Travel Theme for the Week “Contrast“.

All of the photographs in this post are from our trip to Patagonian Chile and Argentina, among the most beautiful and remote places in the world. Hmmm…that sounds like “Tagged P ” for Patagonia 🙂 Please click on the photos for greater clarity and detail.

To see more entries in this week’s photo challenge, click here

I’m participating in the online adventure travel and outdoor photography magazine Wild Weekly Photo Challenge for bloggersThis week’s Challenge is: Mountains!