Mountain ranges are always tough because they depend on so many factors, not the least of which is scale. Narrow mountain ranges tend not to be terribly long. Some mountain ranges look totally different depending on which side you're coming from. Some inspiration:
Area with thin, well-defined ranges of varying types: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=3...458191&t=k&z=9
Area with high and low points (to be specific, Mt Whitney and Death Valley in the USA): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=3...916382&t=k&z=8
The classic craggy mountains that are more of a blob than a sinuous range (the Alps in Europe): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...832764&t=k&z=7
A nice mountain range that's a bit longer than the blobs (the Alps in New Zealand): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=-...832764&t=k&z=7
A huge block with a nice sharp edge (the Himalayas): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=2...832764&t=k&z=7
THe classic giant sinuous mountain range (the Andes): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&...2,9.832764&z=7

I recommend looking at the items above in both terrain view and satellite view to see how the appearance of the underlying terrain is affected by local climate conditions. One thing I don't see here a lot is that high mountain ranges are often colored differently on one side than another (and sometimes not).