Lightning tears across the sky, leaving streaks across your retinas as if the tempestuous scenery were painted on a dome of cracked porcelain, each piece poised to sunder. While some jagged lines fade from view, others remain—those of the gigantic mountains ahead of you. Then there’s a shudder, as if the very cliffs are collapsing, and you edge forward to catch sight of a rockslide that does not materialize. Instead, an enormous serpentine head separates from the tallest peak as you realize the greatest of these mountains is no mountain at all.
