City Proximity To Mountain Peak & Prominence

[pj3000]

Snow-capped peaks looming behind city skylines look really cool. But I have absolutely zero interest in living near one. Good as photo backdrop and someting cool to point at, but other than that, useless.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Snow-capped peaks looming behind city skylines look really cool. But I have absolutely zero interest in living near one. Good as photo backdrop and someting cool to point at, but other than that, useless.

Wouldn't the same thing apply to skyscrapers for most people? Unless you personally happen to live or work in one they're just something cool to look at. Although with mountains, they actually can have a recreational use in many cases with hiking, skiing, mountain biking, etc. The North Shore mountains in Vancouver has all such activities and in fact is often even considered the world epicentre of mountain biking.

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-tra...s-really-like/

The mountains are also one of - if not the - biggest tourist draws in the region with stuff like the Capilano suspension bridge, a suspended foot bridge over a scenic mountain gorge.

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by edale

For some reason, seeing Mt. Ranier lording over Seattle freaks me out. It looks so ominous. If it ever has a Mt. St. Helens type of eruption, Seattle is fucked!

Always liked Seattle backdrop. Something about it that makes it stand out more compared to other mountain cities.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Snow-capped peaks looming behind city skylines look really cool. But I have absolutely zero interest in living near one. Good as photo backdrop and someting cool to point at, but other than that, useless.

Someone is not a skier!

[MolsonExport]

Rio de Janeiro

[MolsonExport]

Grenoble (France)

[MolsonExport]

Calgary

[MolsonExport]

Cape Town (South Africa)

[harls]

I'm not going to pretend I live next to a mountain backdrop, but there is a steep drop from the Canadian shield to the fertile Ottawa river valley that is pretty dramatic (old pic by yours truly):

Downtown Gatineau (Hull) by harley b., on Flickr

I'd like to live in a place like this, with a wall of rock behind me.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/y3kP6gd6d2voRwbR6

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Snow-capped peaks looming behind city skylines look really cool. But I have absolutely zero interest in living near one. Good as photo backdrop and someting cool to point at, but other than that, useless.

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Someone is not a skier!

Don't even have to be a skier. I know for me when I lived in LA, the San Gabriels were a god-send to be able to get out of town, get in the trees, and hike to a waterfall.

[iheartthed]

Here are some shots I took in Rio de Janeiro way back in 2011:

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

I know for me when I lived in LA, the San Gabriels were a god-send to be able to get out of town, get in the trees, and hike to a waterfall.

Yeah, I don't see how having access to nearby mountain wilderness could ever be a negative.

Out here in the Midwest where we don't have mountains, the sprawl just tends to get even sprawlier and eats up everything that isn't water for the most part, unless sections of land have been very specifically set-aside to not be developed. There's almost nothing in that landscape itself that says "don't develop here".

I absolutely love Chicago, but this city would be even better if the endless sprawl of Lake and McHenry counties was replaced by a mountain range.

[mhays]

Plus the Olympics shield Seattle from being a lot more rainy!