Brave New Heights

Francesco Petrarch (often called the "Father of the European Renaissance") exemplified the humanists' enthusiasm for antiquity. The old Roman or Greek literature shaped the way he saw the world. In one instance, he read from Livy about someone who said by climbing a certain mountain you could see two separate seas. So, Petrarch took his brother and went mountain climbing in France (Mt. Ventoux).

from my climb up Mt. Timpanogos, 2012

His account of the experience explains what is common: he'd often wanted to climb that mountain, but hadn't gotten around to it. And it wasn't until he actually did the feat that he gained the perspective (both literal and figurative) that he would. That experience echoes my own in finally getting to climb the local Mt. Timpanogos (11,700 feet), which took many hours and much effort. As those who climb mountains know, the view that one earns from taking the climb is more exhilarating than any picture or story by which one vicariously gets that view.