Local photographer Paul Pennington wants people to climb mountains for the beauty, not just for the ticking off on a list.
Pennington has just published his new photo-essay book, “Mountains that Move Through You: Of Angels and High Peaks,” which is available on Blurb.com.
“Mountains” tells the story through photos of climbing the San Juan Mountains with people from Nepal, Pennington said. In the book, he says the photos and text are based on climbs during summer 2019, when there were no monsoons, which allowed the group to safely climb a large number of peaks.
“We were able to climb a lot of peaks in the San Juans,” he said. “I was just combining it with my friendship with some Nepalese folks who worked at the Himalayan Kitchen, we would pack up the Subaru Legacy and I would be like the guide – it was kind of a reverse-guide thing where I was taking them around our mountains and climbing with them and they really enjoyed it.”
Pennington said it took him about a year to finish the book: “I just kept fiddling with it.” And the end result is a beautiful book of photographs – both in color and black and white – with a message.
“I think what it says is climbing for the beauty instead of bagging (just to claim the climb),” he said. “Really what it says is the camaraderie, the beauty, the friendships – it’s still nice to climb for the challenge, but the nature ...”
katie@durangoherald.com
