60 Mountain Climbing Quotes to Inspire Your Next Adventure
I’m excited to share a collection of mountain climbing quotes. These words inspire and challenge us, reminding us of our inner strength.
As Sir Edmund Hillary said, “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
Let’s explore these quotes and discover what they can teach us about perseverance and personal growth.
Enjoy!
Our Favorite Mountain Climbing Quotes
1# “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
2# “Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” — Greg Child
3# “It don’t gotta be fun to be fun.” — Carl Tobin
4# “Climbing and soloing aren’t worth dying for, but they are worth risking dying for.” — Todd Skinner
5# “Great things are done when men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.” — William Blake
6# “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
7# “The mountains are calling and I must go.” — John Muir
8# “The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.” — Conrad Anker
9# “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
10# “Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.” — Hermann Buhl
11# “The best view comes after the hardest climb.” — Unknown
12# “Mountains teach that not everything in this world can be rationally explained.” — Aleksander Lwow
13# “Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” — Barry Finlay
14# “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” — Sir Edmund Hillary
15# “In the mountains, there are only two grades: You can either do it, or you can’t.” — Rusty Baille
16# “The mountains whisper for me to wander; my soul hikes to the call.” — Angie Weiland-Crosby
17# “He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
18# “To those who have struggled with them, the mountains reveal beauties that they will not disclose to those who make no effort.” — Sir Francis Younghusband
19# “Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.” — Sir Martin Conway
20# “I’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain.” — Andrew Garfield
21# “Climbing is as close as we can come to flying.” — Margaret Young
22# “When you go to the mountains, you see them and you admire them. In a sense, they give you a challenge, and you try to express that challenge by climbing them.” — Sir Edmund Hillary
23# “The higher you climb on the mountain, the harder the wind blows.” — Sam Cummings
24# “Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous.” — Reinhold Messner
25# “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” — John Muir
26# “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.” — Sir Ranulph Fiennes
27# “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” — Winston S. Churchill
28# “The way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don’t fool yourself; the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far.” — Paulo Coelho
29# “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” — T.S. Eliot
30# “On this proud and beautiful mountain we have lived hours of fraternal, warm and exalting nobility.” — Lionel Terray
31# “You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory.” — Lito Tejada-Flores
32# “Mountains aren’t just funny. They are hill areas.” — Unknown
33# “The summit is just a halfway point.” — Ed Viesturs
34# “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” — Ed Viesturs
35# “A climber’s day always starts at the crux: getting out of bed.” — Unknown
36# “The best climber in the world is the one who’s having the most fun.” — Alex Lowe
37# “Climbing is not a battle with the elements, nor against the law of gravity. It’s a battle against oneself.” — Walter Bonatti
38# “There are two emotions in a climb – one is the overwhelming desire to get up, and the other is the overwhelming desire to get down.” — Chris Bonington
39# “Mountains don’t kill people, they just sit there.” — Ed Viesturs
40# “The higher you climb, the better the view.” — Unknown
41# “Achieving the summit is only half the battle; having the wisdom to return safely is the victory.” — Ed Viesturs
42# “The most dangerous thing you can do in the mountains is to underestimate them.” — Reinhold Messner
43# “Climbing is about finding your own way, not following someone else’s footsteps.” — Alex Honnold
44# “The climb speaks to our character, but the view, I think, to our souls.” — Laurie Sehn
45# “Mountains are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” — Anatoli Boukreev
46# “Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient that fuels daring.” — Grace Lichtenstein
47# “Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” — Anatoli Boukreev
48# “Climbing may be hard, but it’s easier than growing up.” — Ed Sklar
49# “Mountains compel us to greatness, as they themselves are great.” — David McCullough Jr.
50# “Every mountain within our soul can be moved by faith.” — Unknown
51# “The path to your own summit is often solitary, but the view from the top is worth the journey.” — Unknown
52# “Climbing is as close as we can get to flying without leaving the ground.” — Unknown
53# “The mountain remains unmoved at seeming defeat by the mist.” — Rabindranath Tagore
54# “Mountaineering is more than climbing, panoramic views, and wilderness experience. It is also challenge, risk, and hardship.” — Charles Houston
55# “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
56# “Every climber knows that hope is not a strategy.” — Unknown
57# “The best views come after the hardest climbs.” — Unknown
58# “If you are facing a mountain, you have several options. You can climb it and cross to the other side. You can go around it. You can dig under it. You can fly over it. You can blow it up. You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there. You can turn back and return from where you came. Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home.” — Vera Nazarian
59# “Mountains don’t just demand respect, they command it.” — Unknown
60# “To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.” — William Shakespeare
