In high-alpine environments (about 12,000ft and higher), the landscape is barren, rocky, and vast. For mountaineers, one challenge becomes marking, finding, and following a route because, unlike in sub-alpine environments, there is little to no vegetation, trees, or dirt to make a clear trail. One solution that has been used since ancient times, is to build “cairns” – piles of stacked rocks that mark the route. Often, there are several spanning the trail, but no more than necessary are constructed.

Climbing in this environment has multiple challenges, including finding and following trails marked by cairns with maze-like boulder fields, jagged ridges, loose gravel slides, and snow and ice fields in between. That, combined with exposures including high-altitude, frigid temperatures, heavy wind, and intense physical demand can put the climbers in an almost dazed and discombobulated state as they negotiate the trail. But, with persistence, cairn after cairn, the climbers finally reach the summit with a rush of joy, accomplishment, and gratitude when, after hours of feeling lost, the climbers stand atop and see everything below with infinite sky above.

“Alpine Cairns” is a reflection of that journey. It chronicles the climb through melody, rhythm, and timbre reflecting the geography, landscape, and sense of climbing in high-alpine environments.