The great barrier known as the Shade Mountains is the border between north and south. So wide is the range, that while the north end knows only cold and snow throughout the seasons, the south end that blends into the hillscape north of Tarloc has no snowfall in the summer. The heights of the mountains themselves are always covered in snow. The terrain is immensely harsh and difficult to navigate and travel through. If the wild beasts and monsters don’t fell the traveler, it will be the freezing cold, the thin air, the dangerous climbs or an avalanche.