There’s something thrilling about skyscrapers. For some it may be the view from the top. For others, they represent the apex of human civilization—power, money, human ingenuity, thousands upon thousands of tiny cubicles.

For me, it’s the diversity of life. Not only of the sentient occupants, but of the plant life as well. I love the challenge it takes to rise to the top. The weather is all sorts of different as well. A few months ago I hiked one with a friend, Kevin. It was a hot day in the valley, but cold and windy on top. The snow never fully melts up there. We scaled hundreds of feet of hard, slippery snow, in places at least 20 feet deep.

While some like the dazzle of the city variety of skyscrapers, I prefer the natural type. Mountains are my skyscrapers.