What is it about mountains that affect us so deeply? They have the amazing ability to stir up the most inspirational thoughts, don’t they? Especially when you’re up at the top, looking down.

Is it the dramatic sense of height you get when you’re up there – that indefinable “above it all” feeling? Maybe it’s the fact that (when the weather cooperates, that is) you can literally see for miles and miles and miles…

A Ski Vacation

Some thirty or so years ago, my family had a sorta combination family reunion and ski vacation in the beautiful resort town of Crested Butte, up in the mountains of Colorado.

I’ll tell ya, this particular trip was a boatload of fun because I love snow skiing – even though I’m, uh, not exactly an expert. And you never know what’s gonna happen, you know? Truth be told, I’ve learned a hard lesson or two on previous ski trips.

However, this particular vacation was a blast! And it was made even more fun because of the number of folks we shared the experience with. By the time the different family members arrived, there were about twenty or so of us livin’ in a couple of huge condominiums. But by far the best part about our lodging was they were located right on the slope!

Sure made it easy to get out there and do my thing, I’ll tell ya. I could literally get out of bed, snap on my skis, slide past the breakfast table (grabbing a handful of bacon and eggs in passing), zip out the front door and head downhill, right to the lift. And, at the end of the day, from the top of the mountain to “home” it was downhill again – right to the front door! (I tried to get Mom to hold the door open so I could ski right into the living room, but for some reason she was a mite reluctant. Go figure.)

Hey, now that’s the way to enjoy a ski vacation, ain’t it? No driving, no shuttle buses, no long trudge uphill just to get to (or from) the slopes. I’m tellin’ ya, it was perfect!

And don’cha love that mountain air? Crisp, bracing in its coldness; there’s just something special about bein’ out there under bright blue skies, among towering mountains with their white, snowy mantles.

Now, it’s one thing to see those mountains during the day. But it’s a special treat to see them at night under a full moon – and that’s just what I got. It was amazing, to say the least! The cold, mountain air made the view perfectly sharp and clear, and the full moon’s glow gave everything an ethereal quality that just begged for admiration.

But the scene that sticks in my mind the most was the remarkable view of the tiny little town of Crested Butte from our balcony. It looked like a someone had laid a cluster of multi-colored Christmas lights down in the snow. The silent splendor was breathtaking.

[Note: Sorry, y'all; this image from Crested Butte's website just doesn't do it justice. Thirty years ago it was a much smaller - and more picturesque - town. Alas, this is all I could find.]

Perspectives

I’ll tell ya; there’s one thing about being up on a mountain. You get a feeling of, I don’t know, hugeness, don’t you? And paradoxically, smallness at the same time. All the things below us seem so small and insignificant (even though they’re not), yet the mountain itself keeps us from feeling too big. Does that make sense?

I love bein’ on a mountaintop – because of the view. The perspective from up there is so amazing. You simply can’t duplicate it anywhere else, y’know? I can understand why most of us use the term “mountaintop experience” to describe a time of great accomplishment and joy. It just seems to fit, y’know?

Another expression we use, perhaps not as often though, is the “valley experience”. It’s when things, well, aren’t goin’ so well. Derived from the reference to the Valley of the Shadow of Death in Psalm 23, it describes a time when things are goin’ pretty badly for us. Valley experiences, as anyone will tell you, are most definitely not fun.

Ah, I love bein’ on the mountaintop, don’t you? The air, the view, the great sense of peace – ironically enough, though, I can appreciate bein’ down in the valley, too. After all, that’s where the town is. A place filled with activity, people, and… experience. And isn’t experience one of the greatest teachers of all?

Interesting dichotomy, don’cha think? Up on the mountaintop – or down in the valley. Probably all of us, as we travel through life, get to enjoy (or agonize through, depending) both extremes at various times. Hey, it’s a fact, and no mistake. And it’s a true statement to say that most of us would probably rather be “on top of the world” than “down in the valley”, if you get my meanin’.

But I’ll tell ya; there’s no hidin’ the fact that, in reality, most of the time, we live somewhere in between.

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Photo: Cool Ski Jump! by planetxau

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[Note from the Proprietor: This is my entry for our current What I Learned From... groupwrite project, and the topic this month is "Mountaintop Experiences". Hey, there's still time to join us - just click on that link and read all about it!]

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