Originally Posted by
AirborneAgain
As mad_jock said, the "Mountain Rating" is not about flying in mountains, it is about operating from very steep (18.5% in Courchevel) one-way runways.
It's not just for difficult runways - for example, St. Tropez airport (La Mole) requires pilots of light aircraft to either have the French mountain rating or have done a "familiarisation" flight with local instructors. This is due to its position in a valley between steep slopes - the runway itself is long and perfectly flat.
FBW