Perhaps it’s the altitude that produces the attitude, that rugged resilience aloft with can-do spirit that is most pervasive in the Mountains. Just getting to these rarefied alpine destinations can be a challenge unto itself, so for those who call them home or make pilgrimages to their peaks year after year, optimism is by necessity the only wind allowed to prevail. For overcoming these vertiginous obstacles is to reap the rewards of an elevated solitude and contentment that only this unmarred environment can bestow.

It should come as no surprise, then, that you’ll find this buoyant sensibility in the generous design of Tim Campbell, who took on the weighty legacy of transforming a portion of Ernest Hemingway’s former home and resting place in Sun Valley, Idaho, into a creative retreat accessible to a new generation of artistic talents. Or to discover that it is equally abundant in the colorful lakeside getaway of Boston-based interiors expert Heather Wells. And, likewise, to unearth its natural abundance in the awe-inspiring dwellings and structures of Aspen architect Cristof Eigelberger.

It’s these examples and others that bring us joy as we close out this year and give us hope for the season ahead. Invariably, they shift our gaze upward towards the mountains for fresh ideas and inspiration of our own . . . not just for our latest collection, but also our next vacation.