he noted that before the path reached the summit it narrowed to a defile which was bordered by the most precipitous of all pastures : everything here is wild , strange and beautiful : the hill up which winds the path towers above on the right , whilst on the farther side of a profound ravine rises an immense mountain , to whose extreme altitudes the eye is scarcely able to attain , but the most singular feature of this pass are the hanging fields or meadows which cover its sides .