It’s important to know that land at higher altitudes can be in a completely different climate zone. One of our clients lived in USDA Zone 7A and moved south, and expected to be able to grow the same plants she grew in a property several hundred miles north of her new mountain community, but because her house was now 1500+ feet higher than her previous home, it was a full zone colder at 6A and she couldn’t grow a number of plants she was familiar with.
Altitude can make a significant difference in how long the winters are, how harsh they are, how cold it gets, how warm it gets in summer, how dry it is, and many other climate considerations. Topsoil can be much rockier and thinner as it is carried downslope by rain to lower slopes and bottomlands. We already discussed how the direction the mountain is pointing can have quite an impact as well.