Human beings simply aren't built to function at the cruising altitude of a 747.Jon Krakauer
Getting to the top of any given mountain was considered much less important than how one got there.Jon Krakauer
Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics and others with a shaky hold on reality.Jon Krakauer
We were too tired to help. Above 8,000 meters is not a place where people can afford morality.Jon Krakauer
The plain truth is that I knew better but went to Everest anyway. And in doing so I was a party to the death of good people, which is something that is apt to remain on my conscience for a very long time.Jon Krakauer
The ratio of misery to pleasure was greater by an order of magnitude than any other mountain I'd been on; I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain.Jon Krakauer
With enough determination, any bloody idiot can get up this hill. The trick is to get back down alive.Jon Krakauer
When asked why they wanted to climb Everest, George Mallory famously quipped, 'Because it is there'. But that's not quite accurate. Women, I suspect, would find 'Because it's there' a particularly annoying response. Men may perceive this as a worthy challenge, but women are more likely to perceive it as a waste of time.Jon Krakauer
I was intrigued by the allure of the world's highest peak, a place of ferocious beauty that simultaneously inspires awe and engenders horror.Jon Krakauer
Attempting to climb Everest is an intrinsically irrational act - a triumph of desire over sensibility. Any person who would seriously consider it is almost by definition beyond the sway of reasoned argument.Jon Krakauer