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Kurt Albert (Deutschland)
Inventor of "redpoint"-climbing: "There are always new things to be discovered and so many beautiful rock walls on our planet just waiting to be climbed.“ Foto: Zak
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Conrad Anker (USA)
"Over thousands and thousands of years we´ve evolved the adventure right out of our lives ..." Foto: Alexander Huber
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Bernd Arnold (Deutschland)
"A sport for a lifetime: Climbing is a sport close to home. Climbing is having fun at a high level of performance. Climbing is for everyone. Climbing is a factor that lends meaning to life and a real anchor. Climbing is medicine. Climbing is conservation. Climbing is consideration. Climbing can also be regulated. And that is why climbing has a future."
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In Memoriam Peter Aufschnaiter 1899-1973 (Austria)
"I would have settled in Tibet, where in all the years I was living there I was thankful to the sky that I was given this luck." Foto: www.peteraufschnaiter.at
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Valery Babanov (Russland)
"Where there is the victory, there is the courage to go on ..." Foto: www.babanov.com
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Mauro Bole (Italien)
"I have been always very instinctive in my life. Everything that happened to me has always happened naturally without constrictions." Foto: www.lasportiva.com
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Sir Chris Bonington (UK)
"The attraction of attempting unclimbed peaks with a small team, doesn’t lie in a higher degree of safety. It lies in the feeling of freedom, the joys of exploration and the pure fun evolving from it." Foto: Craig Richards
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In Memoriam: Hermann Buhl 1924-1957 (Austria)
"The mountains are silent teachers and they show the way to noble qualities: humility towards nature, modesty, courage, sacrifice and willpower."
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David Breashears (USA)
"This is how I made many experiences in the Himalayas. I attentively watched through the view-finder, tried to find the right setting, breath deeply and make a story out of every detail." Foto: Richards
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Jim Bridwell (USA)
Foto: The Mountain Zone
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Kitty Calhoun (USA)
"In America we measure success in dollars…. Therefore, the books and films directly related to Everest 1996 may have generated 150 to 250 million dollars in revenue." Photo: Craig Richards
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Riccardo Cassin (Italien)
"The future of mountain climbing is not in danger. The Alps, like all the mountains in the world, will always have something new to offer because we are the creators of our continuous interest in them. Driven by nature to new conquests, we will always find new ways to express ourselves in harmony with the period in which we live." Photo: Craig Richards
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In Memoriam: Benoit Chamoux 1961-1995 (Frankreich)
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Greg Child (USA)
"Of course, there is nothing wrong with making a buck out of climbing. But climbers have to be careful now that climbing has become a hot property that the tail does not begin to wag the dog. Sponsorships and big-bucks guiding can drive climbers to push themselves into deadly situations." Photos: Craig Richards
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Yvon Chouinard (USA)
"Ethics concern values, morals, and the principle of right and wrong – not only the rules of conduct among ourselves. They also dictate how we treat the Earth for, after all, we are inseparable from Nature." Photo: Craig Richards
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Peter Croft (Kanada)
"Today more and more people are drawn to so-called adventure sports. In our fear of the unknown – namely adventure – we change the definition, remove the unknown, and bravely call ourselves adventurers." Photo: Craig Richards
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Kim Csizmazia (USA)
"Go climbing but take the time to check the doors on the churches and castles. This is not really like 'take time to smell the roses' although I would recommend this also, but more like be reminded that life is an adventure. What you get out of it is up to you."
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Wade Davis (CAN)
"The ethical challenge of expeditionary mountaineering has always been to strike a balance beween respect for local beliefs and traditions and the successful pursuit of legitimate desires and passions." Photo: Richards
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Catherine Destivelle (Frankreich)
"I earned my living through climbing and never had the feeling that I was betraying my passion, but rather that I was conveying my knowledge of the mountains to the public." Photo: Craig Richards
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Kurt Diemberger (Austria)
"I would like to impart an old piece of wisdom of the mountain guides to the young as well: 'Those who go slow go well. And those who go well go far!'" Photo: Craig Richards
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Ed Douglas (UK)
"The steelworks and coal mines of northern England are gone and have been replaced by shopping malls. Hitching to the crag, driving beat-up cars, and dosing in caves don’t hold quite the same cachet. The antiestablishment quality of climbing got lost around the time McDonalds sold its billionth hamburger." Photo: Richards
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Ralf Dujmovits (Deutschland)
"Everybody should be free to chose the style by which they would like to climb a route in the future as well. That is totally up to individual taste as long as nobody is disturbed or the environment damaged. However, the report must be 100 percent honest." Photo: www.amicalalpin.de
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Hanspeter Eisendle (Italien)
"The Nanga Parbat Expedition 2000 (with Reinhold Messner) is an expression of my enthusiasm for the ‘old-fashioned’ classical form of mountaineering ‘by fair means’, where the experience of your own exposure is much more important than the experience of performance." Photo: Archive Eisendle
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Mick Fowler (USA)
"I am assuming that alpine style involves a small group of climbers (usually two) making progress in a self-contained unit…. To me this pure style of climbing will ultimately become the only respected way of tackling new ice/mixed routes in the Himalayas." Photo: Craig Richards
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Will Gadd (CAN)
"But the real leaps forward will come from those who can throw all the different forms of climbing into a blender and become stronger by drinking the resulting mixture. So train harder than you’ve ever trained on rock, ice, and mixed, an then go to them." Photo: Richards
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Stefan Glowacz (Deutschland)
"Alpinism offers so many possibilities that everyone can practice it according to his own views. One thing, however, is of utmost importance to me: The respect towards our great natural playground – Nature." Foto: www.glowacz.de
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In Memoriam: Wolfgang Güllich 1960-1992 (Deutschland)
"It is only the mental attitude and the objectives followed in one’s approach to climbing that matter. The first and most important rule for sport climbing is the ethic of the 'free' ascent." Photo: Zak
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Peter Habeler (Austria)
Mt. Everest 1978: "Although Reinhold and I form an inseparable team, we consider one thing certain: In the death zone it is impossible to help each other without bottled oxygen. If something would happen to one of us, the other must rescue himself at any price. His strength would be just sufficient for his own survival." Photo: Archive Habeler
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Christoph Hainz (Italien)
"We have no right to adapt the great achievements of the first ascentionists of alpine routes to our own ability or inability by going overboard with retro-bolting." Photo: Hainz
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Anderl Heckmair (Deutschland)
"I consider mountain climbing as an absolutely egocentric activity; I could therefore never understand why one would want to set up rules for it." Photo: Craig Richards
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Lynn Hill (USA)
One of the strongest woman climbers of the world cites the poet T.S. Eliot: "We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." Photo: Craig Richards
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Sir Edmund Hillary (Neuseeland)
"Who dares, wins!" Foto: Craig Richards
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Tom Hornbein (USA)
"Although selflessness and sacrifice don’t appear in the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition, those who voluntarily risk their own well-being to aid others are, to me, heroes." Photo: Richards
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Gerhard Hörhager (Austria)
"Respect nature and people!" Foto: Martin Joisten
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Leo Houlding (UK)
"Bolts and indoor walls have enabled us to reach into the grades of the ‘unthinkables’ and to share the wonders of climbing with a broader spectrum of people. In doing so, however, we have sanitized and made safe most of a sport once renowned for its dangerous and fulfilling risk-taking." Photo: Craig Richards
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Charles Houston (USA)
"Sadly, mountaineering, particularly big-time climbing in the great ranges, has changed as it has gone commercial – like almost every other sport…. The line between sport and professionalism has disappeared…" Photo: Craig Richards
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Alexander Huber (Deutschland)
"There is only one path to success: self confidence. The confidence in myself, the knowledge that I can do it!" Photo: Gerald Lehner
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Thomas Huber (Deutschland)
"After a certain period of time we too have become twisted, and the longer we live in the vertical, the more we crack up. Our thoughts and our deeds revolve solely around surviving in this unique biotope." Photo: Alexander Huber
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Tomaz Humar (Slowenien)
"I am thankful for the grace I have been given. Where do I go from here? The common denominator of all my expeditions, adventures and aspirations has been the call of the face." Foto: www.humar.com
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Daniela Jasper (Deutschland)
"Prohibitions lead to nothing in this world, prohibitions are circumvented as much as possible! We should appeal to reason and humaneness and – this is decisive – we should start with ourselves!" Photo: www.robert-jasper.de
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Robert Jasper (Deutschland)
"Naturally, there is a lot to discuss. I think it is of primary importance that we don’t only talk but then go out and really do something. And here every single one of us has a responsibility." Photo: Archive Jasper
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Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (Austria)
Foto: www.bergsteigen.at
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Beat Kammerlander (Austria)
Foto: Zak
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Hans Kammerlander (Italien)
"Mein biggest wish is that beginning with the International Year of Mountains all ascents of 8.000 m peaks with artificial oxygen are not accepted and registrated any more. That does not appeal to the era of first ascents and the early explorers and pioneers." Foto: Selfportrait, Mt. Everest
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Jürg von Känel (Schweiz)
"Climbing on well protected routes remains an unforgettable experience. ‘Plaisir’ is the French word for fun, pleasure, joy, bliss, delight!" Photo: Archive Känel
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In Memoriam: Reinhard Karl 1946-1982 (Deutschland)
"'Clean Climbing'. Climbing as total joy without leaving traces." Photo: DAV calendar 2002
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Silvo Karo (Slowenien)
"Like all generations before us, we have inherited something and we will leave something for coming generations. It is important that we are conscious of the tradition and identity of mountaineering, but it is no less important that we go with the times." Photo: Craig Richards
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In Memoriam: Jerzy Kukuczka 1948-1989 (Polen)
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Christian Kuntner (Italien)
"He who does not live liberty, will never understand it." Photo: Archive Kuntner
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Voytek Kurtyka (Polen)
"I began to understand that climbing style is the highest expression of the art of mountaineering. Not only from the point of view of athletic performance, but also from a human perspective. Accidental partnerships are not suitable for this."
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Guy Lacelle (CAN)
"Ice climbing and the mentality of the people who practice it are perpetually changing, and that’s what keeps it interesting. We shouldn’t be afraid of theses changes."
Photo: Richards
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Erhard Loretan (Schweiz)
"Go fast and light!"
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Jeff Lowe (USA)
"In wild and beautiful places we discover things in us, which we did not know before. Our strengths and weaknesses come to light clearly." Foto: Craig Richards
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Heinz Mariacher (Austria)
"Mountaineering to me is one of the last adventures in a society full of rules and prohibitions." Photo: Zak
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Reinhold Messner (Italien)
"Normed climbing supervised by functionaries will never reach that point in the back of our minds that makes us tick!" Photo: Craig Richards
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Dee Molenaar (USA)
This still tickles him: On the summit of K2 in 1953 the geologist and mountain guide painted the "highest" water color in the world. Molenaar counts among the pioneers of mountain guiding in the USA. A number of first ascents of the wild mountains of Alaska make him a living legend.
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In Memoriam: Fritz Moravec (Austria)
"Nearly every young human being suffers from wanderlust and every alpinist has the dream to be able to see the most beautiful mountains of the world once in a lifetime." Foto: Sepp Larch
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Simone Moro (Italy)
"More than just a sport, mountaineering is an activity of survival - the need to enter into the eye of training, a quality of survival."
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Pat Morrow (Kanada)
"The collecting project that has loomed largest over the past 20 years, and hasn’t diminished in dimension or import, is the ascent of all fourteen 8000-meter peaks…." Photo: Craig Richards
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Wolfgang Nairz (Austria)
"One should not degrade the mountain to a piece of sports equipment!" Photo: Archive Nairz
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Oswald Ölz (Schweiz)
"I do not know where mountain sports are heading because I do not know in which direction our global society is drifting. But I fear the worst. Despite this, I am happy to continue playing the game." Photo: Archive Ölz
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Andreas Orgler (Austria)
"If what I believe in turns into the official law, I will set out tomorrow to break the law."
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Albert Precht (Österreich)
"For years I have sympathized with the ideas of Paul Preuß. In the mid sixties some charismatic people started steering alpinism on to a new and fairer path. The period that ended with the power drill was the most productive for my way of climbing." Photo: Archiv Precht
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In Memoriam: Paul Preuß 1886-1913 (Österreich)
"Every climber must be able to descend without aid, each section he has ascended." Photo: Archive OeAV
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Marko Prezelj (Slowenien)
"I think that we are working on great idea which has to be discussed and presented to as many people as possible who are visiting mountains. Mountains are part of human life for long time. And with evolution of life, human relationship towards mountains is changing all the time. Now probably faster than in the past." Foto: S. Koch
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Robert Renzler (Austria)
"Let us together find ways out of the moral and athletic crisis of alpinism. Let us restore dignity to the mountains and with this also to ourselves! " Photo: Archive OeAV
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Royal Robbins (USA)
"The future may be unclear but I can't imagine that, as of the new millenium, all of the old laws of the universe will have to be put to rest. It seems certain to me that whatever men and women have always needed, and need today, they will need in the future." Photo: Richards
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In Memoriam: Wanda Rutkiewicz 1943-1992 (Polen)
"Should one question those who no longer are alive about the sense of risking life? I think not! It is part of human liberty to put one’s life at stake, for intangible values such as mountaineering and the mountains as well. We shouldn’t condemn those who have paid the highest price for this, but hold them in our memories."
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Audrey Salkeld (UK)
"Wir trösten uns mit dem Glauben, dass wir durch das Verstehen der Vergangenheit lernen, Fallstricke heute und zukünftig zu vermeiden und wahrscheinlich eintretenden Ereignisse vorher zu sagen. Die Geschichte wiederholt sich – so sagen wir gerne." Foto: Richards
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Robert Schauer (Austria)
"Sometimes I have the suspicion that some mountaineers don’t go on expeditions for the fun of it, but to quench their thirst for admiration and to follow a pathological personality cult in order to make money."
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Reinhold Scherer (Austria)
"What gets on my nerves? People that can’t listen and climbers that believe they have invented climbing. You will find the right way to climbing if you refuse to have it dictated to you!" Photo: Larcher
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In Memoriam: Reinhard Schiestl 1957-1995 (Austria)
"Hidden in every idealist is a Don Quixote. And I am quite sad that there are so few of them."
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Pete Schoening (USA)
With his wonderful ice axe he rescued six lives on K2 in 1953. For many people in North America Pete Schoening is a model – also because of his charm and his fair attitude to climbing. Photo: Gerald Lehner
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Doug Scott (UK)
"Evolution, so it has been said, is the way back home to the primordial consciousness. Those going into the death zone will have a better idea of this. In the first century, Cicero said ‘that which has always fascinated man most is the unknown.’ This facet of human nature will keep climbing on course for another hundred years or more." Photo: Craig Richards
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Ang Rita Sherpa (Nepal)
"What we Sherpas have earned is the professional skills and experience in trekking and expedition which can be shared by the mountaineers." Foto: www.angritatrek.com
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In Memoriam: Pasang Dawa Lama Sherpa (Nepal)
Foto: Helmut Heuberger
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In Memoriam: Tenzing Norgay Sherpa 1914-1986 (Nepal, Indien)
"On the top of the world there were place for two, perhaps three persons if you removed some ice. And seven - eight meters below, there were enough space for two persons to spend the night - if anyone would come up with that unusually idea." Foto: Marcus Schmuck
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Todd Skinner (USA)
"If we use rope-ladders to get to a summit, we climb the ladders, but not the mountain itself." Foto: Richards
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Christian Stangl (Austria)
"Alpine style and minimal equipment were the keys to success in a fast ascent of the South Face of Shisha Pangma." Photo: Archive Stangl
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Junko Tabei (Japan)
"Mount Everest is one of the great treasures of our Earth and many people view it as holy. The protection of its natural environment is a duty of every mountaineer who visits or climbs it." Photo: Craig Richards
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In Memoriam: Herbert Tichy 1912-1987 (Österreich)
"Think of the goal!" Photo: Archive Wolfgang Friedl
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Ed Viesturs (USA)
"I’ve built a life around climbing, primarily in the Cascade Mountains, where I’ve guided for years, and in the high Himalayas. Like most climbers, I went through a long apprenticeship and spent years with many partners on many different mountains, climbing with friends pretty much invisible and guiding to help to pay the bills." Photo: Craig Richards
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Krzysztof Wielicki (Polen)
"The 'competition' for the first ascent of all 8000-meter peaks wasn’t really an important thing within the climbing community. As soon as Messner (1986) and Kukuczka (1987) did what the media had expected from them, the Himalayan climbing community forgot about that so-called competition…." Photo: Richards
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In Memoriam: Fritz Wiessner (Deutschland, USA)
"Everything I have learned in the long years from the mountain – strength, energy, endurance, instinct – I will use with cool reflection, but with a warm heart." Photo: Polly Wiessner
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Peter Wörgötter (Austria)
An extreme climber is easily suspected to have little tolerance for those weaker than himself, to tend more to his vanity than to the common welfare. The two brothers from Salzburg prove that the contrary can be true: "Do good and talk little about it." Photo: Gerald Lehner
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Wastl Wörgötter (Austria)
"More distinctly than my summit successes I remember the intense rivalry between Sherpas, which I as expedition leader was not able to stop. One of the Sherpas later died in an ice avalanche." Photo: Archive Wörgötter
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Santosh Yadav (Indien)
"In a society where education for women was frowned upon, involvement in an adventure sport was unthinkable. But I was adamant. I thought what a boy could do, I could do, too." Foto: www.planetfear.com
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Heinz Zak (Austria)
"Rock climbing and mountaineering are sports and like all sports they are governed by rules. Freedom doesn’t mean anarchy. My freedom ends at the point where I start stepping on others peoples toes." Photo: Archive Zak
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And many more
have influenced, formed, enriched, pushed ahead and commented alpinism. Photo: Ronnie Richards
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Our recommendation: "Voices from the Summit" (National Geograhic)
The World’s Great Mountaineers on the Future of Climbing: The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture in Canada und die National Geographic Society (USA) kindle the discussion with a copiously illustrated book. Photos: Craig Richards - Banff
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