8 Quotes by Walter Bonatti

No, mi dicevo, non può essere bello un mondo dove le paure e gli entusiasmi spaventano i più, tesi come sono al risparmio di sé e dei propri sentimenti.

Chi conosce l'Africa selvaggia deve convenire che nell'oscurità non v'è suono più spaventoso del richiamo del leone

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.

Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It’s a battle against oneself.

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

I’ve always been incapable of accepting fate, and I’ve always refused to die, and that has helped me to survive.

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.

In my opinion, specialization is sterile and limiting from a human point of view. We cannot be other than universal in our interests and aspirations.