The alarm jolts you awake, your eyes snap open briefly before closing again. The first sensation of consciousness is a gentle breeze on your face, the only exposed part of your body outside the sleeping bag. The sky is painted with a soft pink pastel hue, but the sun has yet to grace the surrounding mountain peaks with its warmth, a fact you realize as you fully awaken. This, right here, is my perfect way to wake up. I leave aside the difficulty of getting out of the warm and cozy sleeping bag into cold, possibly frozen hiking boots. But there’s nothing better than waking up after a cold but cozy night under the stars, surrounded by gorgeous mountain peaks, and, in the best-case scenario, next to an absolutely stunning mountain lake that serves as a mirror for the peaks, turning first red and then golden when the first subtle light touches them.

But what is it about the mountains that boosts my serotonin levels, whether I only catch a glimpse of them from afar or I am on top of a mountain surrounded by many more peaks?

The answer is easily explained. The first and obvious reason is that I am Swiss. The privilege and luck of growing up in a diverse beautiful country like Switzerland allowed me to spend much of my childhood in the mountains, which made me feel emotionally connected to them from an early age. I have wonderful memories of exploring the trails during the summer months or sledding or skiing down a mountain in winter with my parents. For a few years now, I have combined this passion for the mountains with my other passion, photography. Picking up my first camera in 2017 changed not only how I take pictures but also how I spend most of my time and holidays. These passions have allowed me to experience very beautiful memories, meet many new people whom I now call dear friends, and, most importantly, meet the love of my life, who I now call my wife.

For me, the emotional connection to the mountains does not come from a pursuit of adrenaline. Yes, I love to hike. I could do it all day, every day, for the rest of my life. Although we have hiked many steep, narrow, or heavily exposed trails that provoked an adrenaline rush and definitely made me push my mental limits. It’s the quiet, the beauty, and the good time with friends that is the adventure for me. The inspiration I get when being in the mountains is unmatched. Nowhere else do I feel more at ease with nature. They offer a sense of isolation and solitude and a break from the everyday world. At the same time, they fill me with joy and make me feel small and insignificant, that everything else other than the current moment does not matter. Exactly these moments I like to photograph.

Mountains have a natural beauty and elegance that make me feel in awe. They look like a wonder, like the door to heaven and the gods. The feeling of reward after climbing a mountain is hard to describe; it is breathtaking, as is watching the sunset after a decent cooked meal on the gas cooker and watching the sun set behind the peaks, followed by an alpine glow colored in all the warm hues of the rainbow.

For now, please excuse me. The mountains are calling, and I must go.