American - Athlete | November 27, 1962 -
The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.
Conrad Anker
ClimbMattersUsSummitDrives
Mountains are freedom. Treat them respectfully.
FreedomMountainsTreatThem
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.
NatureHomeMeChaosWorldPlay
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.
GoodMountainPeopleMeWoodsTiger
If you compare Everest photographs in 1953 with its current state, things are melting. I imagine if I were a golfer in Indiana, I'd be hard-pressed to believe in climate change because nothing's going on there. But when you're up in the mountains and seeing the glaciers melt away, it's an obvious physical manifestation of a warming planet.
ChangeMountainsBelieveYouSeeing
From a climbing standpoint, gravity is the adversary. You and your fellow humans are striving together to get to the same place at the same time. And I think that's a really good way for humans to interact.
GoodTimeTogetherThinkYouPlace
The mountains seem to have conquered us long before we set foot on them, and they will remain long after our brief existence. This indomitable force of the mountains gives us humans a blank canvas on which to paint the drive of discovery and, in the process, test the limits of human performance.
MountainsPerformanceDriveLimits
Perhaps you could say that mountaineers are driven by ego or our competitiveness, but there's a lot more to it than that. Whether it's a huge face in the Himalaya or some crag in the woods behind your house, exploration offers us a unique perspective on the world that you can't really find anywhere else.
PerspectiveWorldEgoWoodsFace
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.
SnowAgeWindIceYoungBuild
We can't take climate change and put it on the back burner. If we don't address climate change, we won't be around as humans.
ChangeBackClimate ChangeTakePut
When you find your passion, it's great. You go up a mountain with partners, and you have a wonderful opportunity to connect and achieve a goal together. You are not trying to be better than other humans. You are supporting each other.
PassionOpportunityGreatTogether
It's our human nature to explore. Tens of thousands of years ago, our species walked out of Africa, traveling far and wide across the entire planet, from the Arctic to the tip of Tierra Del Fuego, making us the most geographically diversified species on Earth.
NatureHuman NatureEarthAfricaOut
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