“You can get a lawyer with two months off or a New York socialite who w...” — Jon Krakauer Quote

“You can get a lawyer with two months off or a New York socialite who wants to play at being Lewis and Clark and put them up there, but Everest is still in charge; it can still kick butt.”

“I guess I don't try to justify climbing or defend it, because I can't. I see climbing as a compulsion that, at its best, is no worse than many other compulsions - golf or stamp collecting or growing world-record pumpkins.”

“When I was 23, I went to Alaska by myself into the glaciers of the coast range and climbed a mountain by myself. It was incredibly reckless, incredibly stupid. But I was lucky. And I survived, and I came back to tell my story.”

“I'm capable of just putting my butt in a chair and spending nine hours a day studying poker. I took it as a full time job. So I think that it's a combination of being lucky, but also really studying, working hard and pushing myself to do everything I could.”

“I just know what I want, and I'm willing to butt heads with folks to get it.”

“Unfortunately, doing business with friends rarely ends well and usually ends up kicking you in the butt, be it donkey or stallion!”