i remembered climbing , the challenge of taking one step after another to get higher and higher , to find the right path , to go on in spite of rain , cold snow , elevation that makes the hands swell , the breath come with effort , and at the top , to see the distances , the other mountains , the ravens soaring , catching the down drafts , the little picas with mouths full of grass , always busy with their nests , the marmots pitching their calls to each other , sharp and piercing .