HERE | THERE
To gain a vantage point and see where you’ve been, and to stand upon where your eyes once gazed, I feel is an experience most overlook. Its power to remind us of where we can extend our gratitude towards and reveal what more there is to be discovered is an element we can glean meaning and orientation from.
Giants of the Flathead Range, MT: One rarely gets a full panoramic view of this impressive range in the winter as the mountains are typically covered in a heavy layer of clouds. To witness these mountains fully, one must gain a vantage point from across the valley as they are shielded from view by the “smaller” mountains that stand between the crest and the valley.
Just days apart and several other times of the past I’ve wandered somewhere over there, looking out unto the horizon, dreaming of where I stand now - here. Reminiscent memories filled my mind as I traced the ridges and valleys, recounting the struggles and joy of those past adventures. I remembered the numb hands and feet, wind burned face, fatigue, shivered spine as the slightest gust of wind finds its way to the sweat on my back, and the bone shaking snow that had been morphed into every skiers nightmare.
Of course, I did not fail to forget the conversation silencing views, the pleasure it was to move freely amongst the mountains, the ir-replicable feeling of a successful adventure, and those few turns of prefect snow we toiled all day for - although, it’s hardly good snow we’re after as much as we fool ourselves into thinking we are.
From a ski tour in Glacier National Park. Taking photos in the winter proves to be challenging at times, and this photo was no exception. Wind chills were well below zero, my hands could hardly feel the shutter button, and my eye, while looking through the view finder, was filling rapidly with tears (from the cold). Though the result was slightly blurry, I cherish it, for in the photo I can still feel the frigid temps, the wind through my jacket, and the sun’s absence.
It is a true gift to see - and be reminded of - it all from afar, and to recount the steps taken for they were much more intimate and marked by intricacies observed along the way - all a part of the flood of reminiscent memories. The moss hanging and swaying in the fir trees, the hoar frost glistening in the afternoon sun, the winding streams we followed through undefiled snow, the open meadows crossed and cliffs navigated.
Finding myself up high again, the duality of past and future - here and there - impresses strongly upon the spirit for adventure. Each adventure is imprinted upon the mind and body, all becoming part of the greater connection one can have with these places. And to stand here, staring upon the horizon to where I’ve yet to be, I am inspired yet again to dream - to dream of the adventure I know awaits; to deepen the connection I’ve made with the landscape I’ve becomes so fond of and to detail it’s intricacies.
The beauty of the mountains is of course dressed by its peculiarities and unique characteristics, but also in that its power to inspire is unending, for each mountain will only reveal what more there is to be experienced.
With snow ghosts lining the rime covered ridge of Mt Edwards, one gets a small look into how harsh the winter environment is up high in these mountains. Storms arrive ferociously with winds nearing triple digits at times, plastering the cliffs and trees with heavy snow and ice. Miraculously, these trees thrive.
