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great climbing quotes


knotzen

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Early spring 1982, Mike Kellogg and I were planning a canoe trip down the Upper Blackfoot. We were going to take climbing gear and put up some routes on the chossy crags along the river.

Mikey called me and asked if I wanted to go climbing. Assuming he was talking about the float trip we had planned, I packed for the Blackfoot.

When he pulled up in his 70's vintage Honda civic, there was no canoe but I didn't notice. It wasn't until I got in and he looked at me with red eyes barely visible between two lids of skin and half whispered, "Sssslooottt TTTooowwweeerrrr". That I realized we were heading for another climb we had discussed high in the divide country of the Bitterroot.

"I guess we won't be needing the canoe after all."

I froze my butt off. TR posted a few years ago if you search.

 

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"If we had some ham we could have some ham and eggs, if we had some eggs."

 

Greg Child I think?

I think it was Groucho Marx, actually. My father was fond of that quote. He'd trot it out whenever we started whining about, "I wish we had this or I wish we had that." Edited by catbirdseat
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The Mazamas site (mazamas.org)has a quote of the month with some gems. Here's a selection:

 

"There are only 3 real sports: bull-fighting, car racing and mountain climbing. All the others are mere games."

Ernest Hemingway

 

"If the conquest of a great peak brings moments of exultation and bliss, which in the monotonous, materialistic existence of modern times nothing else can approach, it also presents great dangers. It is not the goal of "grand alpinisme" to face peril, but it is one of the tests one must undergo to deserve the joy of rising for an instant above the state of crawling grubs. "

Lionel Terray, French Alpinist

 

"As I hammered in the last bolt and staggered over the rim, it was not at all clear to me who was the conqueror and who was the conquered. I do recall that El Cap seemed to be in much better condition than I was."

Warren Harding, after the first ascent of El Capitan, Yosemite

 

“My best vacation is your worst nightmare.”

Bumpersticker seen on a climber’s van, Yosemite NP

 

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my favorite...

 

"There have been joys too great to be described in words, and there have been griefs upon which I have not dared to dwell; and with these in mind I say: Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end." Edward Whymper, Scrambles Amongst the Alps

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