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Existence on a mountain is simple. Seldom in life does it come any
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simpler: survival, plus striving toward the
summit. The goal is solidly
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three-dimensionally there- you can see it, touch it,
stand upon it – the
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way to reach it well defined, the energy of all
directed toward its
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achievement.
It is this simplicity that strips the veneer of civilization
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and makes that which is meaningful easier to come by
– the pleasure of
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deep companionship, moments of uninhibited humor,
the tasting of
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hardship, sorrow, beauty, joy. But it is this very simplicity that may
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prevent finding answers to the questions I have
asked as we
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approached the mountains.” ~ Tom Hornbein, Everest:
The West Ridge
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Source: Willis, C. (ed.), 1997. Epic: Stories of
Survival from the
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World’s Highest Peak; pg. 220.
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