People in the Mountains - Mountain Geography: Physical and Human Dimensions - page 491

mountains that persisted for generations. Well-documented examples are found along
the great trans-Himalayan trade routes between India and Tibet and Central Asia (Rizvi
1999). Wool, salt, hides, and borax from north of the Himalaya were traded for agri-
cultural products, timber, and textiles from the southern Himalaya, or further south, at
predetermined locations. Likewise, in western North America, prehistoric trade across
the mountains took place at long-established locations within the mountains, creating
a semipermanent footprint and some semipermanent residents there. In the Alps, since
the Roman period, but especially since late medieval times, roads over mountain passes
facilitated the trans-Alpine trade between the Mediterranean region and the dynamic
commercial centers in Central and Western Europe. The Alpine passes served as routes
for pilgrims and soldiers as well. Many of these routes remain in use to the present:
Great St. Bernard Pass, Gotthard Pass, Simplon Pass, Brenner Pass, and Col d'Agnel are
examples.
Affluence, particularly in Europe and North America, and increasingly in the emer-
ging economies of India and China, has made possible widespread amenity migration:
“migration to places that people perceive as having greater environmental quality and
differentiated culture” (Moss 2006a: 3). This has produced forms of semipermanent res-
idency in mountains around the world. The phenomenon has ancient roots, reaching
back to early China and Greece; but it has expanded rapidly since the mid-twentieth
century in the mountains not only of industrialized countries (Moss 2006b), but also
of many developing countries including Argentina, Chile, China, Costa Rica, India, In-
donesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Philippines, South Africa, and Thailand
(Chaverri 2006; Glorioso 2006; Moss 2006a; Otero et al. 2006). Proponents of this trend
argue that it brings affluence, enhanced infrastructure and services, and moderniza-
tion to the mountains. Opponents warn of a speculative real estate market with exor-
bitantly rising housing prices, of potentially unsustainable economic growth, of cultur-
al alienation, and of increased environmental stress (Sandford 2008). For example, in
the Alps, there is considerable debate over the widespread proliferation of apartments
and second homes and the ensuing seasonal influx of outsiders. Some communities are
today seeking to curb the proliferation of second-home ownership by foreigners, and in
2012, following a national referendum in Switzerland, a law imposed a 20 percent ceil-
ing on the number of second homes in any community.