I don’t deny that there can be an element of escapism in mountaineering, but this should never overshadow its real essence, which is not escape but victory over your own human frailty. Walter Bonatti More Quotes by Walter Bonatti More Quotes From Walter Bonatti Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It's a battle against oneself. Walter Bonatti climbing battle law The mountains have rules. they are harsh rules, but they are there, and if you keep to them you are safe. A mountain is not like men. A mountain is sincere. The weapons to conquer it exist inside you, inside your soul. Walter Bonatti climbing soul men For me, the value of a climb is the sum of three inseparable elements, all equally important: aesthetics, history, and ethics. Together they form the whole basis of my concept of alpinism. Some people see no more in climbing mountains than an escape from the harsh realities of modern times. This is not only uninformed but unfair. I don’t deny that there can be an element of escapism in mountaineering, but this should never overshadow its real essence, which is not escape but victory over your own human frailty. Walter Bonatti climbing real essence If in normal conditions it is skill, which counts, in such extreme situations, it is the spirit, which saves. Walter Bonatti climbing normal skills We [climbers] demonstrate in the most stunning way of all - at the risk of our lives - that there is no limit to the effort man can demand of himself. This quality is the basis of all human achievementit can never be proved enough. I consider that we climbers - that I - serve all humanity. We prove that there is no limit to what man can do. Walter Bonatti effort humanity men I've always been incapable of accepting fate, and I've always refused to die, and that has helped me to survive. Walter Bonatti climbing fate accepting The solitary ascent of the Dru had the immediate effect of expanding the horizons of my ideas about mountaineering. It made me aware of possibilities well in advance of the times, which were characterized by very restricted methods. This was how the superb pyramid of K2 surfaced once more in the list of my projects. But I chose K2 as a way for giving concrete form to my new concept of mountaineering: to climb the second highest mountain in the world solo, alpine style, and without oxygen. Walter Bonatti oxygen pyramids ideas
