Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Notable Quotes

Those quotes are all too inspirational. How about hearing your hiking partner saying something memorable like "I thought you brought the tent poles?"

I'm sure everybody's heard some notably stupid lines during the year.

My second contribution to this thread . . .

"There are other Annapurnas in the lives of men."

(Last sentence in the book "Annapurna", by Maurice Herzog. The book documents his climb of Annapurna, the first time an 8,000 meter peak was climbed. He closes by making an analogy between what he accomplished and other challenges in life.)

"might rain"

I saw this thread today, just before leaving for an afternoon walk on the Salmon Creek trail. Wrote the quote below while on my walk.

Salmon Creek w/Mt. Hood in the backdrop.

"Once you hear the call of the mountains, you will never be the same.  You will unearth treasures beyond the rich man’s dream.  You will know glory greater than any king.  And you will push limits most men have never dared." m.c.

Many of the quotes I've written over the last few years have been about the mountains... what a shock.

First snow today on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. My hiking group was wondering whether to hike tomorrow or not. ( yes)

This quote is appropriate:

"In life, most people unfortunately never even take that first step to a walk in the sky, as Nicholas Clinch calls it in his book of that name. He writes, 'Expeditions are born in the minds of men and more of them die there than are defeated by avalanches, bad weather, and misfortune combined.'"

Just do it!

Harvey

I love mountain quotes!

Expanding on 2 previous ones:
"Doubly happy is the man whom lofty mountain tops are within reach, for the lights that shine there illumine all that lies below."
And my personal favorite:
Annapurna, to which we had gone empty handed, was a treasure on which we should live the rest of our days. With this realization we turn the page: a new life begins. There are other Annapurnas in the lives of men."
And one I just heard on Ken Burns National Parks:
"We are now in the mountains and the mountains in us."
-John Muir

This is not exactly a "Mountain Quote" but when I read it, I was reminded of my mountain hikes. I use part of it as my signature.

"....one might dwell within the cave and gaze upon shadows, provided that once in his lifetime he could break his chains, and feel his wings, and behold the sun; provided that once in his lifetime he might testify to the fact that life, with all its cares and terrors, is no such great thing after all, but merely a bubble upon the surface of a river, a thing that one may toss about and play with as a juggler tosses his golden balls, a thing that one may quaff, like a goblet of rare red wine. Thus having known himself for the master of things, a man could go back to his toil and live upon the memory all his days."
Upton Sinclair – “The Jungle” 1906

"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 fellings of weakness and inadequacy. That struggle appeals to me. It is why I became a mountaineer." - Anatoli Boukreev

"You cannot stay on the summit forever, you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees, one descends; one sees no longer, but one has seen. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."

From Mount Analog, Rene Dumal

My quote
"No wonder the hills and groves were Gods first temples...for my part, I should like to stay here all winter, all my life, or even all eternity" John Muir 1911

It is one of personal importance. The person in the picture was my cousin Johnny Baruch. He was a hiker / climber / mountaineer at a very young age. He bagged many peaks in the Sierras starting at about age 11. At 17, he went on a trip to Everest Base Camp where he trekked around in the Khumbu region for six weeks. He did not have the desire to summit Everest as he didn't find it technically challenging! At 19, through Graham Stevenson and Arkel Erb, he was able to be a part of the 1976 American expedition to climb Dunagiri in the Garwhal Himalaya.
Unfortunately there was an accident(?) and Johnny, Stevenson, Erb, and another climber fell to their deaths on that mountain.
Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker (read "The Shining Mountain") were instrumental in helping to get some of Johnny's belongings back to my Aunt and Uncle, but his body remains on Dunagiri for all eternity. This is the postcard that our family sent out after his death.
Stacy

A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.

-Einstein

Hi Thank you for posting the card. I think it says alot about mountaineering , many lessons are displayed in a short statement. It is sad when someone is lost on the start of a great future. Doug

Wow Doug, I am truly honored to read your comment. Thank you. You are absolutely correct about a great future being lost prematurely. I was only 11 when he died, but I always thought he was so cool and brave for climbing mountains.
I'm a relative newbie to the backpacking/hiking thing...just a few years in, but now I can see and understand why he was so passionate about hiking and climbing in the Sierra backcountry.
There is nothing I enjoy more than being out there.
Someday I hope to summit Whitney in his honor.
Thanks again,
Stacy

..... "the strong stride of a confident woman"
by MooseTracks.

I read this in a past TR and keep it posted on the fridge for inspiration.

I like this one from George Leigh Mallory, upon leaving base camp for his final assault on Everset -

"We shall sail to the top this time, and God with us - or stamp to the top with our teeth in the wind."

Came across this quote from William Blake (1757-1827) In his era
few women climbed Mts, thus it might explain the male focus. I
certainly don't want my women friends on this Message Board taking me to task and accusing me of being a real male chauvinist.

"Great things are done when men and mountains meet"

I found one in the summit register on Morris Peak on Sunday, but it's the holidays... so I'm not going to repeat it here.

“OH, let’s go up the hill and scare ourselves,
As reckless as the best of them to-night" ...Robert Frost

I found an interesting quote by Reinhold Messner in the DVD "The Dark Glow of the Mountains" a film by Werner Herzog about the
Gasherbrum I & II combined climb.

"Climbing is a sign of the degeneration of our civilization.
Maybe I'm a little crazy, but all artists are."

A spectacular DVD by the way.

Hi First I would like to thank Rosie for her Quote. It's not what we do for ourselves that..... I am on the road all day doing useless things that somehow I hope will make a difference. I have a quote from Colorado I reflect "Beyond the sundown is tomorrow's wisdom. Today is going to be long long ago." Thomas Ferril