Eiger Quotes & Sayings

Yes, we had made and excursion into another world and we had come back, but we had brought the joy of life and of humanity back with us. In the rush and whirl of everyday things, we so often live alongside one another without making any mutual contact. We had learned on the North Fae of the Eiger that men are good, and the earth on which we were born is good."(p.126) — Heinrich Harrer

One of the differences between us was that Marc wanted very badly to climb the Eiger, while I wanted very badly only to have climbed the Eiger. Marc, understand, is at that age when the pituitary secretes an overabundance of those hormones that mask the subtler emotions, such as fear. He tends to confuse things like life-or-death climbing with fun. — Jon Krakauer

Dad used to say, "Death is a part of it all." I say it's the ugly part. But it's why I'm here, why Eiger climbers come. We come because they died, and by dying they created this legend, and we want to be a part of the legend, without dying. — John Harlin

One thing to remember on the Eiger, never look up, or you may need a plastic surgeon. — Don Whillans