ABSTRACT
The mountain is indeed treacherous terrain, for it not only lifts and elevates but also threatens to cast down trespassers. The void thus refers to both the pinnacle amidst the clouds and the menacing depths below. The ascension is associated with the ecstatic overcoming of human limitation and focusing on human exceptionalism: the Nietzschean Overman, Icarus, and Faustian myths in short. Descensionalism, in turn, corresponds with a “down-to-earthiness” and melancholia. The mountain is an ascending force that connects the world above with the Earth below. It will stand-in for an encounter with the void. The art critic, John Ruskin, is probably the best exponent of this blend of reverie and scientific exploration as he viewed the Alps as both “cathedrals and schools”. Mountains are not viewed precisely the same by all cultures and traditions. Matters are further complicated by allowing for a multi-perspective which the viewer may experience as “profoundly disconcerting”.
