Climbing is what I do.

I cannot say to be glad or not glad to be on Everest. It is my life. I have opportunity to be here, so I am here.

This year my role is clear: I am a coach, a coach to sportsmen.

I don't know what being an Everest guide means. I am a coach, not a guide.

Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.

I think that people ran out of oxygen and don't really know what happened up there, maybe some of them just made things up because they weren't sure what had happened.

How could the adventure seeker of today find satisfaction with the level of performance that was a standard set more than 40 years ago ?