"Big mountains are a completely different world: snow, ice, rocks, sky, and thin air. You cannot conquer them, only rise to their height for a short time; and for that they demand a great deal. The struggle is not with the enemy, or a competitor like in sports, but with yourself, with the feelings of weakness and inadequacy. That struggle appeals to me. It is why I became a mountaineer."

Source : Anatoli Boukreev (2015). “Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer”, p.4, St. Martin's Griffin

You may also like: