The Mountain Troops of the German Army in World War II were an elite of a special kind.  Unlike the Panzer units, they did not field the mot modern equipment of their day.  Unlike the Waffen-SS, they were not hand-picked for their Nazi loyalty.  If anything, the respect attracted by their special cap and their Edelweiss insignia was earned by rather old-fashioned military virtues - by sheer physical prowess, in uniquely testing conditions.  The Gebirgsjager had to be able to do what other soldiers did - but in places where no other soldiers had the strength and the skills to go, and often in weather no other soldiers could face.