Win a holiday for two to Chamonix with Three UK. Simply upload your holiday photos pics tagging @threeuk & @mpora and including the hashtag #holidayspam. Full details here.
Everyone knows that going travelling these days isn’t just about going somewhere and enjoying it. It’s about making sure all your friends know you’re going somewhere and enjoying it.
Yup, for many people, if it’s not on the ‘Gram, Twitter or Facebook these days, then it didn’t happen. The problem with all of this is that it all gets a bit competitive. Who can get the most likes? Who can earn the most followers?
Well don’t worry, here at Mpora we’ve identified 10 iconic mountainscapes that will definitely help you outstrip your mates/traveling companions/bitter rivals on both fronts. Even with the worst phone in the world, you couldn’t fuck these up.
1) The Matterhorn – Zermatt, Switzerland
Let’s face it, if you’re going to Zermatt, you’re on to an Insta-winna. Mountains don’t come much more iconic (or more mountain-y) than this.
There’s a reason that out of all their many peaks, the Swiss chose this one to go on the Toblerone box.
Top tip: Dazzle your followers with your historical knowledge by referring to the mystery of the deadly first ascent of 1865. Seven men went up, but only three returned…
2) The Tetons – Wyoming, USA
They’re massive, they’re pointy and their name means “tits” in French (the explorer who named them obviously hadn’t seen the real thing in a while). What’s not to like?
Top tip: Grab a few extra likes by driving into the nearby town of Jackson and snapping a shot of the iconic Silver Dollar Cowboy Bar sign. The internet will melt in the face of this dual-pronged onslaught.
3) Aguille du Midi – Chamonix, France
Move aside Mont Blanc with your boring, flat top. This is easily the best-looking peak in the Chamonix valley.
It was made even better by the addition of the gravity-defying cable car in 1955 and the vertigo-inducing glass observation box, called “Step Into The Void” in 2013.
Top tip: If you’re planning on taking your skis up, don’t bother. The “legendary” vallée blanche run down from the top is flat as fuck and crowded. You’ll have more fun catching the cable car back down.
4) Garden of the Gods – Colorado, USA
Although the native American Ute tribe claim their Gods created them here, the name actually stems from a conversation between two surveyors looking for a drink.“Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble.”
M. S. Beach turned to his young companion Rufus Cable and suggested that it would be a “capital place for a beer garden”.
To which the seemingly more sober Rufus replied: “Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods.” Or so the legend goes.
Top tip: Stand underneath the famous “balanced rock” and act like you’re holding it up with your shoulders. You’ll be the first person ever to take that shot. Honestly.
5) The Eiger – Grindelwald, Switzerland
There’s a reason this mountain – and its north face in particular – has a fierce reputation. Over the years more than 60 climbers have lost their lives attempting to scale it, earning it the nickname “Mordwand” – the Murder Wall.
Of course, all those brutal deaths make it a great place to get a selfie. And you know, if you hashtag #death #murder and #nazis (Adolf Hitler personally congratulated the first team to successfully climb it) you’ll probably make loads of lovely new Twitter friends.
Top tip: Don’t use the hashtags #death, #murder or #nazis. Ever.
6) Cortina d’Ampezzo – Cortina, Italy
Cortina d’Ampezzo is utterly stunning, and justifiably famous for two things: The via ferrata or “iron road”, a series of sketchy walkways that link its incredible rock formations together.
And of course the fact that the 1993 “classic” Cliffhanger was filmed here, in which Sylvester Stallone somehow managed to be out-acted by the aforementioned rocks.
Top tip: Instead of channeling Stallone, try imitating slightly more suave film star who proceeded him on these slopes by more than a decade – Roger Moore.
Yep, James Bond himself hucked off Cortina’s ski jump, down the bobsleigh track and over a barn to escape the bad guys. Manage all that and you’ve got the best Insta-vid or Vine of all time.
7) Kebnekaise – Kiruna, Sweden
Kebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden. Which is less impressive than it sounds, given it’s only 2,097m above sea-level.
But while it might not win any mountain height or beauty pageants, Kebnekaise has a secret weapon – it’s location in the far north of the country means it gets the Northern Lights. Properly.
To get a truly internet-winning shot of this one you will require marginally more skill then your average selfie-snapper. But you’d be amazed at what the latest phones can do in low light.
Top tip: Go in March. Oh, and make sure you’ve got a good time-lapse app so you can see those suckers dance.
8) Tiefenbachkogl – Solden, Austria
At 3,307m high, The Tiefenbachkogl would be impressive enough in its own right. But what makes this a truly iconic spot to get your ‘gram going is the addition of the see-through walk way hanging over the precipice at 3,250m up.
Snap a couple of the backdrop, a couple through your feet and watch the likes come rolling in.
Top tip: Take your skis, or better still, your snowboard. Solden has some epic skiing and a damn fine snow park.
9) Mount McKinley (aka Denali) – Alaska, USA
As well as being the tallest mountain in North America (a seriously impressive 6,198m tall) Mount McKinley has the distinction of having been photographed by arguably the greatest landscape snapper who ever lived.
Of course these days you can probably download an Ansel Adams filter that’ll let you replicate the great man’s hours of painstaking darkroom work with a few swipes of your finger.
Top tip: If you want a truly epic shot, hang around and wait for a caribou or a bear to photobomb you. Denali national park is packed with grizzlies, black bears and all sorts of other wildlife.
10) Hallstatter See – Hallstatt, Austria
The Hallstatter See isn’t a mountain per se. In fact, it’s not a mountain at all, it’s a lake. But it’s a lake that offers one hell of a mountain view.
It helps of course that the town of Hallstatt, seen here in the foreground, has been voted the prettiest town in Austria – a country that doesn’t exactly suffer from a dearth of pretty towns. Coventry this ain’t.
Top tip: Don’t visit in high season – the town is tiny (you can get round the whole thing in about 10 minutes) and gets pretty crowded. No-one wants to see other tourists in their tourist snaps now do they?
Win a holiday for two to Chamonix with Three UK. Simply upload your holiday photos tagging @threeuk & @mpora and including the hashtag #holidayspam. Full details here.