GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT

July Monthly Challenge — Mountain Ranges

Beauty high up in the world

Spitzkoppe Mountain Range, Namibia. | Photo credit: Anne Bonfert

I’ve been in the mountains before I could walk and have learned to admire the diversity of mountain ranges more and more over the years. While at first, I always connected mountains with the Alps, I have been able to see a lot of different mountainous terrain in the past decade.

Mountain ranges go back further in history than the story of men and are still growing, some of them. Mountains are to be found in hot and cold climates. And in moderate ones as well.

Mountain ranges can be pretty to look at but they can also be explored on foot. Or by bike. On skis. Or from the inside of a plane. There are so many ways one can be active in the mountains, there is most certainly one option suitable for everyone.

And that is why we picked the topic for this month’s challenge. It’s not going to be a topic about nothing but hiking adventures but it can be as well. We want to hear your personal connection to a specific mountain range in the world and what made it so special for you.

To inspire you, I’d like to introduce you to a diversity of mountain ranges I have gotten in contact with.

Green mountain ranges

It was a brutal hike. We started early in the morning because we knew about the regular rain showers arriving each afternoon and yet we struggled on the trail. While the starting point was at the same altitude as the peak, we still had to cover 1,500 meters (5,000 ft) in altitude to get there. It was a constant up and down.

Most of the trail was deep inside one of the world’s oldest rainforests. We couldn’t see past the first or second level of the tree canopy. And yet, we loved every minute of it.

But when we reached what was supposed to be the peak, we were a little disappointed. The view was restricted. A lot. Low-hanging fog surrounded us.

However, while we waited, the fog was slowly but surely lifting and an endless view of green opened up. “Look at how many mountain ranges you can see,” I mentioned to David who was standing next to me, speechless.

We couldn’t see a single sign of civilization. Not one house, not even a ranger’s shack was visible. Only trees. In forest-covered mountain ranges. One behind the next one. It was almost too much green for our eyes.

Malaysian rainforest. | Photo credit: Anne Bonfert

White mountain ranges

Even though I often say I was born in the snow, it is something I never tire of. Snowy mountain ranges. There is simply no beauty more clear and crystal than a mountainous landscape covered in a fresh dusting of white snowflakes.

Snowy mountain ranges can be dangerous as well. If the conditions are right, avalanches are coming down on all sides. But still, the beauty of them outweighs the dangers. For me.

And that was how I felt when I went skiing with a friend of mine in one of the most famous Austrian ski resorts. I grew up in small villages, skiing down hills where I could tell you where each hump on the slopes would grow during the day.

But in Lech/Zurss in the Tyrolean Alps, one could ride from morning til evening and not use once the same slope. Everything was bigger and longer. The slopes we rode, the lifts we took, and the mountains surrounding us as well. I was even a little intimidated by their sheer size.

Tyrolean Alps, Austria. | Photo credit: Anne Bonfert

Rocky mountain ranges

After leaving not only the comfort of my home country but also the comfort of the temperate European climate, I was transported into a new world. A new world that soon became my new home and a new home where I ventured from to explore more foreign landscapes.

I might have never made it to the moon but explored the Namibian moon landscape on countless occasions and I believe that comes very close. Those rocky and seemingly dead mountain ranges growing from the sides of a dry riverbed do look like from another planet.

And yet, when I slowed down and bent down I would see how much life was in the landscape after all. The slopes were covered in lichens and tiny succulents would grow out of the rocks.

Moon landscape, Namibia. | Photo credit: Anne Bonfert

Sandy mountain ranges

After the rocky one came the sandy one. Sure, I have seen sand before. Lots of it. On the shores of the Italian Riviera. But seeing so much sand so far from the sea and it being piled up high enough to be considered a mountain is a different topic.

Having had the privilege to have worked in the oldest desert in the world I have grown attached to this very hostile environment which only reveals its beauty to those resilient enough.

The desert has mountains very different from all the other ones and yet they are still there to be climbed, slid or boarded on. The fun one can have on sandy slopes like the dunes of the Namib desert is endless. In my eyes.

Desert ranges, Namibia. | Photo credit: Anne Bonfert

Underwater mountain ranges

And just as I thought I covered them all I thought about the opposite. The mountains below the water’s surface. There are valleys in the ocean deeper than our highest mountain ranges on Earth. This means there must be rocky slopes just as interesting as above.

I’m still a relatively new and inexperienced scuba diver and yet, I have seen some spectacular or very daunting cliffs leading to the deep seas. While I have no desire to explore them or to go deeper than the allowed 18 meters with my Open Water Diving Licence, my husband has gone much further.

On the most recent dive, he explored some underwater caves in underwater mountains. How fascinating is that? But since I don’t have such experiences to share myself, I’d like to know if you do.

Rocky underworld, Greece. | Photo credit: Peter Verduyn (used with permission)

So this was my list of different mountain ranges from around the world in the most diverse climates. I’d like to know if you prefer staring at mountain ranges from the luxury of the comfort of a hotel pool down in the valley or if your best experience was heli-skiing. Please don’t share that story or I’ll hate you. Well, not really, but it is something I really want to do.

As always, we are not looking for a listicle where you mention the number of mountain ranges you have seen. We are looking for authentic travel stories. Pick one and get into detail with it.

Mountain Ranges.

Share with us the most unique or memorable experience you’ve had in the mountains. Include conversations, thoughts, maybe interactions with locals or whatever else stood out to you on that particular mountain range.

Share with us the full experience of exploring the mountainous world

Be specific.

We want to hear all the details.

Be creative.

Pull us in with your captivating narrative.

If you need some ideas, here we go:

My First Time Seeing This Mountain Range

I Have Been Traveling the Country When I Found Myself in the Mountains

I Didn’t Know I’d Fall in Love With the Mountains of This Country

A Very Different Kind of Mountain Range

I Never Understood Why People Would Hike up Mountain Ranges

Please continue reading beyond this point. We explain the submission rules step by step. If you think you know them already and don’t need to bother reading them, the chances are high that our editors will reject your submission.

Since the number of submissions has increased in the new year, we decided to lift the bar higher. We no longer accept poorly formatted or written essays as well as stories with no proper photo credits or in general writers who ignore the submission rules of Globetrotters. Expect a straight reject if you do one of those.

This counts for the same if you come up with the smart idea of using the help of AI instead of your brain cells to create the post. As our team of editors is stepping up the fight against computer-generated content to highlight more high-quality travel essays written by our authentic writers, we do not shy away from removing writers altogether.

Please read carefully and don’t ignore our rules.

The Alps. | Picture taken by my husband, used with permission

A requirement for the monthly challenge submissions is to tag 2 articles (from our publication) that either inspired you to go to this place, have quality content about the same country you’re talking about or maybe it’s just a travel piece you really enjoyed reading.

You can use the search function to review our publication and look for articles about your destination. It’s easy and a great way to show appreciation to other writers out here.

Also, don’t forget to tag writers properly. We no longer correct them for you. Read this article if you are unsure what I am talking about. Below you can see two examples of how to tag writers and mention their work.

Screenshot by author

We’re looking forward to your submissions. As always, at the end of the month, the editors of Globetrotters will announce their winners. While we also submit our entries, we do not participate in the competition.

Please remember to follow our guidelines when submitting an article:

• The maximum article length must be 10 minutes.
• Always credit your images. We only accept your own photographs. Please review our image policy if unsure.
• Write your article in the form title-subtitle-title image.
• Please add the tag “monthly challenge” and as always “travel”.
• Make sure that travel is still a focus of your story.
• List 2 articles (from Globetrotters) you have read and engaged with and tag the writers who created them (if unsure of how to tag writers, please read this article)
• The challenge will run from July 1st until July 28th. We reserve the last days of the month to post the results from the challenge.
• For more clarification on submissions, visit the Globetrotters submission guidelines.

We, the team of editors at Globetrotters (JoAnn, Adrienne, Michele, Krasi & Anne) want to thank each of you for contributing to our publication. You’ve sent so many fascinating articles on past challenges and we can’t wait for the next ones.

Thank you.

Our newest member of the editing team, Krasi Shapkarova, kicked off the challenge with this amazing essay. Give it a read and get inspired.

[embed]The Old Mountain of Bulgaria A Balkan adventure of learning history while enjoying naturemedium.com

Read here the final post of our previous monthly challenge. We asked you to share stories about hospitality. In this article, the editors announce their winners:

[embed]Hospitality— The Finale Kindness and hospitality in the worldmedium.com