If you've wondered what's involved in searching for a Mountain to become Brokeback Mountain in Vermont, here's the story....

First, we have to decide which direction to go looking for a mountain. Having knowledge of the area is a great help.

Once we discover a Mountain we want to take a look at, we have to determine if there is a road at or near the base of the Mountain.

Looking at a Mountain from the distance is an awesome sight but trying to get to the Mountain itself is often difficult. You see the Mountain and start driving towards it. Then the roads go off in a different direction instead of to the Mountain like you've hoped. Then you have to find other roads and most of the time, although not always, one of the roads takes you to the Mountain itself. Just getting to the base of the Mountain can take up to an hour from the time the Mountain is first discovered.

Once you get there, you have to look for any signs that indicate that the Mountain may have a name already. Several Mountains I have looked at had signs near the trailhead or at the beginning of the road announcing the name of the Mountain. Usually if a Mountain already has a road going up it, it has a name. However, if no sign can be found indicating the name, the next step is to find several local people to ask about whether the Mountain is named.

Then there are logistics to deal with.

1) If the Mountain is named, where does its name start and end? Sometimes a whole Mountain range is involved and that can often stretch for many miles. In one example of a Mountain I looked at, the Mountain was a part of a range which meant that the mountain extended for several miles but from what I was told, a different name was given to that same range in and near the next town. There was no way to determine where the name of one Mountain ended and the next name began.

2) Can the Mountain be fairly easily climbed/walked? Is there already a path/trail or has the Mountain never been accessed from a particular spot?

3) Is there anything resembling a place where visitors to the Mountain can park their cars? Would anyone who is handicapped be able to have access?

4) Is the Mountain too high that it will take all day to climb to the top?

5) Is there an area on the Mountain with partially level ground where a clearing can be made as a gathering spot?

6) Is the Mountain near a city or is it far from the nearest community? This is crucial in the attempt to name a Mountain "Brokeback". The less chance of opposition the better.

7) Maybe the most important factor in finding a Mountain is a question that only our hearts can answer....Does my heart tell me that this Mountain could be "Brokeback". Sometimes, when I park and get out of the car and take a walk near a Mountain (yes, listening to the Brokeback Theme Song on CD), I look up at the mountain and then close my eyes and let my heart tell me if its right. Only once so far did I feel a Mountain had the potential to be Our Brokeback.

There's more questions and details to a Mountain search of this type, but you now have a general idea of what goes into each Mountain that I have looked at and considered.

Searching for a Mountain to become Brokeback in Vermont is not an easy task. It is time consuming and costly but the end result will make it all worthwhile.

Here's a couple photos of Mountains that I have looked at during my search.

I hope you've found this Mountain Search explanation interesting and useful. If you have any questions, you can email me anytime at john@brokebackmountainvermont.com