35 Quotes by Conrad Anker

Live in the moment and make the most of every single hour that you're alive. Like it says on the sign outside the drop zone in front of the school: No Idling.

It takes a lot of resources to climb Everest, and a lot of other people. But you should go do it.

If people want to go do some big outdoor thing for their ego, have them climb snowy mountains rather than shoot animals.

The first ascent of Everest came at a time when humanity needed relief from two world wars. It was a unifying and inspiring event, signifying the drive to reach our greatest potential.

If people see me giving back to the military, they'll hopefully follow suit and be good to these guys who have done so much. I'm not Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods - I'm just an old, gray-beard mountain climber, but I'm hoping to inspire people to follow my way.

The compression of time one experiences when you're a small person underneath this huge avalanche is amazing.

Here at home, we're in a world of right angles and human construct, so whether it's cement or plastic or steel, everything is at an angle. But nature is chaos theory in full play. So having that uniqueness of what nature is gives me a sense of rejuvenation and scale.

When I was a kid, we would build pillow forts. My pillow fort was always like Ice Station 9 in Antarctica. The other kids would come by and be like, 'Oh! The wind and snow is blowing.' From a young age, I wanted to be out there and surviving. I'm a high-strung, hyperactive guy.

The alpine environment is very delicate. I've been able to see change in the mountains in the 20 years that I've been climbing full-time. Glaciers have receded. The tree-line is changing. That's very rapid to see nature changing in a 20-year period.