Bonatti Quotes & Sayings

Well why don't you lean over this counter a little more and give me your best kiss, and then I'll tell you if I want you to take me out to dinner. — Zack Love

My futon was a fancy one with armrests and everything. It was a pain in the ass to get open because it weighed a ton. I figured I'd make the bed when Luke got back. He'd probably be able to pull it out by glaring at it. — Kristen Ashley

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

The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration. — Kurt Vonnegut

The key to survival is to learn to add more value - and — Andrew S. Grove

I don't believe in one ideal beauty. — Zac Posen

I've always been incapable of accepting fate, and I've always refused to die, and that has helped me to survive. — Walter Bonatti

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

Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It's a battle against oneself. — Walter Bonatti

It's not enough that I should succeed - others should fail. — David Merrick

I think I, like most people, enjoy a wide variety of music. Yeah, I like some country stuff - old country stuff. I might not enjoy Billy Ray Cyrus or anything. But, you know, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, early Johnny Cash - absolutely. — Charlie Day

If in normal conditions it is skill, which counts, in such extreme situations, it is the spirit, which saves. — Walter Bonatti

It does not happen all at once. There is no instant pudding. — W. Edwards Deming

He who ruleth the raging of the sea, knows also how to check the designs of the ungodly. I submit myself with reverence to His Holy Will. O Abner, I fear my God, and I fear none but Him. — Jean Racine

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

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

The saddest thing about ephemerals was that their little lives rarely held time enough for love. — Robert A. Heinlein

Benny Bianchi, do you think in a million years I'd do anything to jeopardize the promise of you? — Kristen Ashley

My life is pretty well at peace, and the profession is more of an avocation. It's a calling, if you like, rather than a job. I do what I feel impelled to do, as an artist would. — Jonas Salk