Quote No. 1
„He gets a free ride after 10 rescues…“
Quote No. 2
„How is it Mac that you can climb so well, when you are so decadent?“
Quote No. 3
„Gravity is a myth, the Earth sucks.“
Quote No. 4
„Climbing is the only cure for gravity.“
Quote No. 5
„The law of gravity is strictly enforced.“
Quote No. 6
„The best climber in the world is the one who’s having the most fun.“
Quote No. 7
„Some people love soloing and are great at it. They can have it.“
Quote No. 8
„My next climb is going to be a tourist troll in a wheelchair.“
Quote No. 9
„[Climbing is] more interesting than my other daytime activity, which closely resembles the million monkeys theory applied to software development.“
Quote No. 10
„My success rate is much higher when I’m soloing. It’s easier to talk yourself into quitting when you have someone to talk to.“
Quote No. 11
„He who seeks fear shall be followed by fear.“
Quote No. 12
„Routes rate me, not the other way around.“
Quote No. 13
„The Puking Gecko, Grand Wall, *** S9 5.12d/e 712m – An intimidating and salacious climb. The final pitch is so exposed, tricky, and continuously strenuous that it is impossible to even contact the rock at any point. Better than making passionate love on top of a Japanese Bullet Train. Superbly magnificent and grimly brilliant.“
Quote No. 14
„Anyone need advice on making the transition from 5.12 to 5.11?“
Quote No. 15
„During the qualifying round I heard the contestant ahead of me introduced: ‘Hardest redpoint: 5.14b, hardest on-sight: 5.13c’ (Geoff Weigand). The contestant after me: ‘Hardest redpoint: K2’ (Greg Child).“
Quote No. 16
„Disobey. Defy. Take your own time. Fly.“
Quote No. 17
„Although one is not inclined to be timid or nervous, it is nevertheless a trifle depressing to receive letters full of expostulation and entreaty: ‘If you are determined to commit suicide, why not come home and do so in a quiet lady-like manner?'“
Quote No. 18
„Hi, this is Annie. I can’t meet with you this week because I’m off to Patagonia. I decided to go just today – I’ll be in touch when I get back.“
Quote No. 19
„Those who say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.“
Quote No. 20
„If climbers used the word ‘beta’ the way most software houses do, we’d all be dead.“
Quote No. 21
„If Everest is the cake, Trango is the topping.“
Quote No. 22
„Mountain climbing is extended periods of intense boredom, interrupted by occasional moments of sheer terror.“
Quote No. 23
„He who remains calm while those around him panics probably doesn’t know what is going on.“
Quote No. 24
„There are old climbers, there are bold climbers, but there are no old bold climbers!“
Quote No. 25
„Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.“
Quote No. 26
„Pissing through 6 inches of clothes with a 3 inch penis!“
Quote No. 27
„I so much enjoy waking up to garbage truck ‘back up’ beepers in the morning at Yosemite. It makes me feel like I’m in New York city!“
Quote No. 28
„Dear Lord, please don’t let me fuck up.“
Quote No. 29
„It doesn’t have to be fun to be fun.“
Quote No. 30
„Climbing is no longer the best thing to do in this area.“
Quote No. 31
„Rocks make no compromise for sex… rock climbing is not like some sports, where it is made easier for women; or sports like, say, softball, which is only baseball for soft people. On a rock, everything is equal.“
Quote No. 32
„I wouldn’t last 30 minutes climbing solo.“
Quote No. 33
„When penalty slack is greater than the distance to the ground, the FF becomes irrelevant.“
Quote No. 34
„How do you distinguish between being off-route and putting up a first ascent?“
Quote No. 35
„Profanity is about the best pro you’ll get until the crack starts to narrow. Include doubles of profanity in the #6 to #8 range on your rack for this lead.“
Quote No. 36
„I’ve seen 5.11 divided into 11 different grades of increasing difficulty, as follows: 5.11a, 5.10d, 5.11-, 5.11b, 5.11, 5.11c, 5.9 squeeze, 5.11+, 5.10 OW, 5.12a, 5.11d.“
Quote No. 37
„Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.“
Quote No. 38
„They say you can’t do it, but sometimes it doesn’t always work.“
Quote No. 39
„The fact that I’m three months pregnant doesn’t change anything.“
Quote No. 40
„Just a reminder – a guidebook is no substitute for skill, experience, judgement and lots of tension.“
Quote No. 41
„Life is brought down to the basics: if you are warm, regular, healthy, not thirsty or hungry, then you are not on a mountain… Climbing at altitude is like hitting your head against a brick wall – it’s great when you stop.“
Quote No. 42
„If you can bang a pin in with your ice axe without anyone yelling at you and you packed the whiskey ’cause it is the only thing that won’t freeze, you’re probably alpine climbing.“
Quote No. 43
„Writing about climbing is boring. I would rather go climbing.“
Quote No. 44
„I don’t want to write about climbing; I don’t want talk about it; I don’t want to photograph it; I don’t want to think about it; all I want to do is do it.“
Quote No. 45
„Why? Why, why, why do I do this???“
Quote No. 46
„As we unloaded packs at the parking lot, two young ladies approached us to ask if we were THE Yosemite climbers… They asked if it were true that Yosemite climbers chafe their hands on the granite to enable them to friction up vertical walls. We assured them that the preposterous myth was true.“
Quote No. 47
„Remember when sex was safe and climbing was dangerous?“
Quote No. 48
„No, she’s the leader of our climb.“
Quote No. 49
„Climbers have no sense of smell.“