Ancient Aliens - Aliens and Mysterious Mountains Dec 13, 2013

Aliens and Mysterious Mountains

Premiere Date:December 13, 2013 – 10:00-11:00PM ET

“Storm in the Mountains” by Albert Bierstadt

Shooting the “Mysterious Mountains” episode of this week’s Ancient Aliens for H2 and the History Channel had special meaning for me given that I spent my birthday this year hiking in the Himalayas. As I trekked through the Anapurna Mountain range in Nepal during the Vernal Equinox, I was often breathless – not only from the strenuous hours of uphill climbing, but also from the sheer beauty and majesty of my surroundings. On my first night of the trek, we arrived at our campsite under heavy cloud cover, unable to see anything beyond our immediate location. We fell into our beds, exhausted, and there we stayed – until our guides came knocking on our doors just after midnight. ”Come, you must come now!”

Annapurna – Ghandruk

We jumped out of bed and scrambled to see what the guides were so excited to show us. The clouds were parting as we slept, and the tallest peaks of the Anapurna Mountain Range were emerging in the moonlight, revealing their height and breadth and almost indescribable beauty. It was the most spectacular and mystical vista I have ever experienced. Compounding the exquisite natural gift was the fact that it was now the earliest hours of the 22nd of March – my 50th birthday.

That night and in the days that followed, I found myself in communion with these magnificent mountains and frequently said aloud some version of the phrase “God lives here.” For surely a place this close to the heavens, this pure and powerful and magical, is the dwelling place of the Divine. This is a feeling that I have shared with countless generations who have come before me, from cultures across the globe and into antiquity. Thus when I was asked to talk about the power of mountains in folklore, mythology and ancient cultures for Ancient Aliens, I was feeling very inspired.

When working on a show like this, one never knows just what segments will make it on the air – sometimes we shoot 30 plus questions for a segment that lasts 5 seconds on the air, but that is the nature of television. I spoke on a number of topics related to the mysticism of mountains for this episode, and I am in delicious anticipation of what will make it on the show. Watch with me on Friday, December 13, 2013, and see!

Synopsis From The History Channel website:

Across ancient civilizations, the world’s mountains were viewed as the sacred home to all-powerful gods. Why would so many different cultures share this belief that mountains had a connection to otherworldly beings? The Greeks believed their most powerful gods, the Olympians, waged an epic war for control of the universe from Mt. Olympus. Ruins of a 4000-year-old observatory discovered on a mountain in Macedonia reveal that the ancients tracked celestial movements from on high with remarkable precision. And in Peru, the descendants of the Incans continue an ancient pilgrimage tradition in order to commune with mountain spirits known as Apu. Could these gods have been extraterrestrials? Did they use remote mountain peaks to interact with early man? Might this explain why humans have been drawn to mountains for thousands of years?

TVPG

Upcoming Airings:

• December 14, 2013 – 02:00-03:00AM ET

http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens


Ancient Aliens - Aliens and Mysterious Mountains Dec 13, 2013