“It goes, boys!” and Other Great Climbing Quotes

Hate them for their clichés or love ’em for their inspiration, mountain climbing quotes are a central part of our sport’s history. Climbing quotes capture a moment in time, like Reinhold Messner’s era-defining essay “The Murder of the Impossible.” They remind us of where we’ve come from—an outtake from the late Anatoli Boukreev instantly comes to mind: “Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” And quotes about climbing and the mountains encourage us to face the risks that are so common in alpinism.

These 33 quotes about climbing mountains only scratch the surface of climbing lore and legend. But we hope you’ll enjoy them as you prepare for your next trip into the hills.

Alpinism and Mountain Quotes

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen.” —Rene Daumal

“Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” —Greg Child

“It don’t gotta be fun to be fun.” —Carl Tobin

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.” —William Blake

“Without mountains, we might find ourselves relieved that we can avoid the pain of the ascent, but we will forever miss the thrill of the summit. And in such a terribly scandalous trade-off, it is the absence of pain that becomes the thief of life.” —Craig D. Lounsbrough

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” —John Muir

“The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.” —Conrad Anker

“There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” —Alex Lowe

“Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.” —Hermann Buhl

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” —Jack Kerouac

“Getting to the top of any given mountain was considered much less important than how one got there: prestige was earned by tackling the most unforgiving routes with minimal equipment, in the boldest style imaginable.” —Jon Krakauer

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.” —John Muir

“You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves.” —Lito Tejada-Flores

“Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.” —Edward Whymper

“As a professional climber, that’s the question you always get: Why, why, why? It’s an ineffable thing; you can’t describe it.”—Jimmy Chin

“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” —Anatoli Boukreev

“Dangers easily managed are not true dangers,” —Hermann Buhl

“Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous.” —Reinhold Messner

“Why can’t we women climb to the top of mountains—with our clothes—and share a message of empowerment for women?” —Cecilia Llusco

Climbing Quotes

“It goes, boys!” —Lynn Hill on becoming the first person to free climb The Nose

“Climbing and soloing aren’t worth dying for, but they are worth risking dying for.” —Todd Skinner

“As I hammered in the last bolt and staggered over the rim, it was not at all clear to me who was the conqueror and who was the conquered. I do recall that El Cap seemed to be in much better condition than I was.” —Warren Harding

“Bolts are the murder of the impossible.” —Reinhold Messner

“Better we raise our skill than lower the climb.” —Royal Robbins

“The best of us get complacent. Fighting complacency is a team effort. Without constant vigilance, gravity has the advantage.” —John Long

“I thought climbing the Devil’s Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life. In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing. But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles for dreams.” —Jon Krakauer

“I’ve done a lot of thinking about fear. For me the crucial question is not how to climb without fear―that’s impossible―but how to deal with it when it creeps into your nerve endings.”—Alex Honnold

“Climbing is an artistic, creative thing; it’s about being spontaneous, traveling, seeing the world, hanging out. It’s a balance of setting goals while enjoying the process, being ambitious without being too competitive.” —Chris Sharma

“When in doubt, run it out.” —Unknown

“I feel a hint of pity for those who don’t get to experience the crisp air and excitement of mountain climbing. Are they ever really awake?”—Tommy Caldwell

“Without a rope there is no fear because to fall is unthinkable.” —Catherine Destivelle

“I’m not here to say that every climber should quit their job and move to Yosemite, or start sleeping in their Saturn wagon, but I am here to say that it can change your life.” —Cedar Wright

“We should be less afraid to be afraid.” —Emily Harrington